May 5, 2016
Mental health nurse specialists in GP practices
A further five mental health nurse specialists have joined practices across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) as part of One Care Consortium’s plans to pilot accessible, timely and appropriate mental health services to patients.
The objectives of the pilot, which will not duplicate existing mental health services, are twofold:
- To demonstrate that it is possible to move demand away from traditional face-to-face GP consultations to a mental health nurse specialist for people with low mood, anxiety and depression
- To improve patient care through accessible, appropriate and more timely mental health input
The pilot began in April 2016, and will bring important benefits to patients and practices. The nurses are intended to become integrated members of the practice team(s) to ensure continuity of care for all patients accessing the service and to reduce pressure on secondary care services.
Each nurse specialist will join one of the following practices or practice collectives
- Winscombe and Banwell Family Practice
- Fallodon Way Medical Centre, Westbury-on-Trym Primary Care Centre, Monks Park and Greenway Community Practice collectively
- Mendip Vale Medical Practice
- Locality Health Centre, Tudor Lodge Surgery and Longton Grove Surgery collectively
The service is set to run across One Care Consortium practices in each CCG area for 12 months and is available to patients aged 18 and over, who are registered with one of the practices involved.
This latest wave, which coincides with National Mental Health Week (w/c 16 May), brings the total number of mental health nurse specialists to nine. Wave three, which is set to commence in June, will see four more nurse specialists embedded in practices across BNSSG.
Mental health nurse specialists in GP practices
