What does the Crisis Service do?
Within Adult Mental Health services the Crisis Service provides specialist care for people who are experiencing an acute mental health episode. The Crisis Service consists of inpatient wards, the Crisis Response Home Treatment team, and the Banagher Daycare facility. Crisis staff work with service users to promote their recovery and wellbeing, and to help patients develop coping skills to prevent further crises in the future. Within the Crisis Service hospital admission is for service users whose acute care needs are such that they cannot, at that time, be treated appropriately at home or in a community-based setting. The role of the inpatient unit is to assess the patient’s mental health needs, formulate a plan of care based on that assessment and provide a range of interventions to help meet those needs.
Our Crisis Response and Home Treatment teams provide mental health care to anyone in the community who is over 18 and experiencing an acute mental health episode. There are two reasons people are offered the support of the Home Treatment Team: (1) for support through an episode of mental illness without the need for hospital admission, and (2) to allow early for discharge from hospital.
Within the Northern sector of the Crisis Service, the Banagher day hospital is a therapeutic space located within Grangewood hospital that provides interventions through education and re-motivational groups for both inpatients and outpatients to aid their recovery.
What staff work in the Crisis Service?
A range of mental health professionals are employed in the Crisis Service. Within the inpatient wards, for example, care is delivered by a large multidisciplinary team comprising of medical staff, nursing staff, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, and pharmacists. When a patient is admitted to one of the inpatient wards their care will be reviewed by the entire multidisciplinary team, and healthcare professionals from the team will have input to the patient’s care as required. With patients’ consent, staff will also engage with family and carers to ensure clients receive the help and support they need.
Where are Crisis Service Teams located?
Adult Mental Health Crisis Services are provided across the Western Health and Social Care Trust area. There are currently 4 mental health inpatient wards – Carrick and Evish wards are based in Grangewood Hospital, L/Derry, whilst Elm and Lime wards are located near the Tyrone and Fermanagh hospital site in Omagh. The newly established assessment centre, Rathview house, is also based in Omagh. There are two Crisis Response Home Treatment teams: one based on the Gransha site in L/Derry, and the other on the Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital site in Omagh. The Banagher day-care unit is based within the Grangewood Hospital in L/Derry.
How do patients access the Crisis Service?
Patients are admitted to mental health inpatient wards and the assessment centre after first being assessed by the Home Treatment Team following a referral from a GP or hospital emergency department. Referrals for the Crisis Response Home Treatment Teams are accepted from GPs and community mental health teams – this includes consultant psychiatrists, community psychiatric nurses and social workers. Referrals are also accepted from the Perinatal Mental Health Team and midwives. The Crisis Response Home Treatment team will offer assessments to individuals who present in crisis to the Emergency Department after 5pm on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays.
When is the Crisis Service available?
The Crisis Service operates on a 24/7 basis.