Older people’s community mental health team

Services are provided for two groups of older adults:

• Service users with a functional mental illness such as depression and psychotic illness, where their needs are best met with older peoples specialist services,
• service users with dementia, including Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and Lewy body disease.

The service will provide assessment, specialist interventions and complex case management for service users who are primarily 65+. Older people with functional mental health problems such as depression and psychotic mental illness, and service users with dementia should be referred to this service for expert assessment, treatment and for periods when:

• here is a history of severe and enduring mental illness,
• there are diagnostic issues that need clarification,
• there is lack of response to initial intervention strategies within primary care,
• distress or risks are particularly severe,
• problems are complex and often multi-agency in nature,
• legal issues require their involvement,
• co-existing physical health concerns.

The main function of the service is to provide a specialist integrated, whole systems, person centred, assessment, treatment, care planning, and ongoing management and information service, to older people and their carers living in their own home or other community settings. Also, the service will work closely with the primary health care team and other professionals to provide advice, information and training to equip them with basic knowledge and skills to work with this group. CMHTs may refer for enhanced domiciliary support to the community enablement team and work collaboratively to help the service user remain at home.

The Trust has now introduced one number to call for all new mental health referrals from GPs. To find out more please click here.