Supporting someone with a Mental Health Problems

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GP Care

Supporting someone with a mental health problem can be demanding, but help and support are available.

Mental health illness is no different from any other illness in that your first approach will usually be to the GP who is the gateway to all services.

In an EMERGENCY you can go to the Accident and Emergency Department or contact the Out of Hours GP Service at Arrowe Park Hospital .

The doctor will assess the severity of the illness and, if necessary, refer the patient to their Local Community Mental Health Team.

Health Teams

There are a number of these teams in Wirral offering specialist assessments and support to adults with mental health problems.

Each team has a psychiatrist, mental health nurses, social workers and other professionals including a family support worker.

Family Support Workers 

Care Co-ordinator

If the Community Mental Health Team becomes involved in the patient’s care, they will be allocated a care co-ordinator who will have a professional qualification such as psychiatric nursing, occupational therapy or social work.

They will be responsible for co-ordinating the patient’s on-going care and for producing, monitoring and reviewing a written care plan after discussions with all concerned.

Carer’s Assessment

You may be entitled to an assessment of your own needs and your own written care plan.

The care co-ordinator will advise you about this.

Any information you provide will treated in confidence.

In-Patient Care

This is provided in the Mental Health Unit at Clatterbridge Hospital .

Each of the four adult in-patient wards has named care link staff who will provide information for carers.

A consultant psychiatrist will be responsible for the patient’s treatment and they will have a named nurse who will co-ordinate all aspects of their hospital care.

You are welcome to phone the ward at any time to enquire about the patient’s progress.

Other Services

You will be given details of these when appropriate:

Help Available