Your mental health service should always

• communicate with you simply and clearly
• work with you to develop your care and support plan and share this with you
• ask you how you would like to be supported
• regularly check with you whether the support is helping and change things if not
• ask you who supports you (your support network, such as family, [partners, boyfriends, girlfriends], friends and carers) and how you want them to be involved

When your referral is accepted, the service should

• explain how they can support you and tell you how to get in contact with them
• tell you when and where your appointment is and how to get there
• tell you about other help available, including in your local area
• explain how you can ask for reasonable adjustments or communication support for you or your support network

You will be given a named worker who should

• take time to get to know you, treat you with respect and work to gain your trust
• be matched to you based on your needs
• be matched to you based on your preferences, as far as possible
• be someone you and those who support you can get in touch with
• communicate with other services and professionals to organise your care
• stay involved with you if you go into hospital and support you to return home

You will have an assessment that should

• respect your view of what has been happening in your life
• consider your safety and other immediate needs
• consider your age, sex, sexuality, race and religion. Also consider your needs if you’re transgender, a disabled person, pregnant or if you’ve recently given birth.
• consider how your financial situation, housing, physical health and relationships are affecting you
• consider how any traumas and difficult events in your life are affecting you

An initial care and support plan will be developed with you to address your urgent needs, including those for your safety and that of others.

A full care and support plan will then be developed with you that should

• address the needs identified in your assessment
• build on your strengths and help you reach your goals
• be reviewed at least every 6 months or sooner if you request this
• be reviewed if there are changes in your life or the support in the plan is not helping you
• include information about your medication and how to take it

Your treatment choices. You should

• be told the pros and cons of your different treatment options
• be given advice on how to get the best results from treatment
• be able to share any worries or concerns about your treatment with your named worker
• be told of any requirements before you can start a treatment and the evidence for them
• only be treated without your consent where this is legally necessary and told why

Your safety plan should

• say what helps you stay safe
• say what makes you feel unsafe
• say what you and others can do to help you be and feel safe
• list any early warning signs of you becoming unwell.
• include your wishes should you need hospital or crisis care

If you go into a psychiatric hospital, you should

• be part of a meeting about why hospital is needed
• be part of regular review meetings to discuss your care in hospital
• be part of regular review meetings to discuss your support in the community
• be able to invite those in your support network to these meetings and have their views heard
• hear from your named worker or home treatment team within 72 hours of discharge home

If your care moves to a new mental health service, you should

• have your care and support plan and your safety plan updated
• be told about the new service is and how to contact it
• be told who your new named worker is
• be part of a ‘transfer of care’ meeting along with your current and new named worker. You should also be able to invite members of your support network or others who matter to you

If your care moves to your GP, you should

• have your care and support plan and safety plan updated
• get a discharge plan that says how you can access mental health services again

Publication reference: PRN02262