Decade of specialist mental health care celebrated by Ambulance service
The London Ambulance Service is celebrating a decade of providing specialist mental health cars in the capital.
“Ten years ago this week, a small number of mental health nurses began working in the London Ambulance Service’s emergency control room, providing assessment and advice to patients in a mental health crisis,” the service said in a press release. “Building on the success of this, in 2018 the Service teamed up paramedics and mental health clinicians in a fast response car.
“Working together in this way, the specialist team can ensure patients with mental health conditions get appropriate treatment quickly and, where possible, avoid the distress of attending busy A&E departments if they could receive better care elsewhere.”
Now, a decade later, the service has a team of over 40 clinicians, including mental health paramedics, experienced nurses, social workers, and occupational therapists. These specialist practitioners continue to work throughout the capital in mental health joint response cars, the service’s emergency control room, providing remote clinical assessments to patients with mental health issues, and referral towards services nearer to home.
Carly Lynch, Consultant Nurse for Mental Health at London Ambulance Service, said that the service is “delighted” to mark the decade milestone.
“The mental health joint response team wraps expert care around the patient and brings specialists in mental and physical health to people in need,” she said. “As more people experience mental health issues, we are delighted to be able to provide this service, and I’m truly proud that we were ahead of the curve when we launched 10 years ago.
“Thanks to the incredible work of our specialist clinicians we now only take 18% of patients experiencing a mental health crisis to A&E. We know that for many people with mental health conditions, A&E is not the best place for them to receive care, and the busy environment of a hospital can be traumatising for our patients. We also know their needs can often be met more effectively in their own home, in the community or alternative services.
“But it’s vital that our patient’s physical and mental health is treated as a whole. Nearly 50% of all mental health patients will have a physical health condition and on average, those with a serious mental illness live up to 20 years less compared to the general population.”
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