The service is a specialist mental health team – based from a nursing model and comprising specialist non-medical prescribers and social workers – embedded within General Practice.

Launched in April 2016, the service was the product of collaborative problem solving between DDHF, The Tees, Esk and Wear (TEWV) Valley Foundation Trust, Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (DDES CCG

Reducing inappropriate referrals to secondary mental health services was a central aim, along with creating a system of easily accessible support for patients with mild to moderate conditions.

Being in local practices means that people can see a mental health expert in the familiar surroundings.

GPs can refer to us anyone aged 18 or over who needs mental health help or support, except in cases of dementia or memory-related issues.

We’re then able to invest some time in each person, getting to know them and talking through their issues over the course of 6 hour-long meetings. These can be over 6 weeks, 6 months or however the patient prefers. 

We also make great effort to fit the sessions around what else is going on in people’s lives.

Longer, informal conversations in familiar surroundings put patients at ease, encouraging them to open up, and helping us to identify any root causes, and develop specific treatment plans.

For some patients, it may be enough to spend the 6 sessions working with us on positive problem solving, dealing with distress or behavioural issues.

For others, there might be more specialist help available, for example to tackle anger management or substance abuse. If the patient agrees, we can refer them onto these services.

As well as stepping people up to specialist or secondary services, we also help patients being discharged from those areas, offering them a period of support before they return to the care of their GP.