Faster help for people experiencing anxiety and depression in Norfolk and Waveney | News and events

 

People in Norfolk and Waveney can now get quicker help for common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety thanks to a new programme which is fast tracking GP referrals to the NHS Wellbeing Service.

The initiative sees staff from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney provide additional training to care navigators working in primary care so that they can refer suitable patients directly, rather than arranging a GP appointment first.

As well as helping patients to get the support they need more quickly, the project is also helping to free up appointments, and saved an estimated 7.5 hours of GP time at one surgery in its first four weeks.

The initiative is currently in place at Wensum Valley Medical Practice in Norwich and the four surgeries run by East Norfolk Medical Practice in the Great Yarmouth area. It will be rolled out to the Birchwood Surgery in North Walsham next, with other parts of Norfolk and Waveney to follow over time.

Paul Saggers, Lead Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner with Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney, said: “We are really pleased with the success of this project so far. As well as helping us to forge closer links with our primary care colleagues, it is also helping us to reach people at an earlier stage in their journey before their problems become too great.

“This not only leads to much better outcomes for our clients, but also helps to reduce the burden on both primary care and our own services in the longer term by making it less likely that they will need further support in the future.

“The training which we are providing to care navigators has given them a much clearer idea of the help we can provide, which means patients can bypass their GP completely. We review the referrals we receive daily and will offer appropriate patients a 45-minute wellbeing advice session within around four weeks.

“We launched the project as a pilot at Wensum Valley in August and initially planned to run it for four weeks, but it has proved such a success that it has quickly become business as usual and is now being gradually rolled out further.”

Cathy Ashby, Lead Therapist with Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney, added: “There has been a lot of interest from other surgeries in this new approach, which has really strengthened our relationship with GPs by giving them a much better idea of which clients could benefit from the support we provide.

“Ensuring patients come to us first is also making their journey smoother and simpler, as well as giving us the chance to offer them NICE-recommended treatments at the earliest opportunity.”

Dr Emily Clark, a GP at Wensum Valley Medical Practice, said: “When people suffer with poor mental health as well as complex social and physical health problems, their poor motivation, competing priorities and lack of confidence can make it difficult for them to proactively seek help by self-referring.

“This pilot has supported some people to engage with the Wellbeing Service by removing the extra step of them self-referring. It has been beneficial for administrative staff who have increased their confidence to signpost appropriate patients to the Wellbeing Service, and has improved our communication and working relationship with Wellbeing. Thank you!”