NHS Direct Launches More Mental Health Information On Its Website, UK
April 18, 2007 – 1:29 pm | posted in Mental Health, Psychology / PsychiatryNHS Direct has added four new question and answer pathways covering anxiety, stress, feeling low and depression to its online self-help guide at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk in time for Mental Health Action Week.
Commenting on this development, Adrian Reyes-Hughes, Associate Clinical Director with responsibility for the website said: “These new pathways have a greater emphasis on advice to help people care for themselves. They are a direct result of public involvement work to develop our online self-help guide. People told us that they found the guide very useful, but wanted more information on how to look after themselves, particularly around mental health issues.
“Following the success of our partnership working with the public on developing these pathways, we are reviewing the rest of the online self-help guide with input from the public and other key stakeholders to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of the information
Key Mental Health Facts from the NHS Direct Online website
Mental health problems can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, gender or social background. Without care and treatment, mental health problems can have a serious affect on the individual and those around them. Every year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people commit suicide.
Mental Health is consistently among the top twenty online inquiries to NHS Direct’s online enquiry service on www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.
Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave. One in four people in the UK have a mental health problem at some point in their lives that affects their daily life, relationships or physical health.
There is no single cause of mental health problems - the reasons why they develop are as complex as the individual. Mental health problems are more common in certain groups, for example, people with poor living conditions, those from ethnic minority groups, disabled people, homeless people and offenders. Sometimes people with mental health problems are discriminated against. This can lead to social problems such as homelessness, and may make the mental health problem worse.
Particular mental health problems are also more common in certain people. For example, women are more likely than men to have anxiety disorders and depression. Drug and alcohol addictions are more common in men, and men are also more likely to commit suicide.
Mental health problems can also develop from difficult life events, such as moving house, losing your job or the death of someone special. Drinking too much alcohol over a long period of time, and using illegal drugs can contribute to mental health problems, particularly in people who are already vulnerable.
People with mental health problems need help and support to enable them to cope with their illness. There are many treatment options, including medication, counselling, psychotherapy, complementary therapies and self help strategies. It’s important that people with mental illnesses are told about the options available so they can make a decision about what treatment suits them best.
Another important step in the recovery process is for the person to accept they are ill, and to want to get better. This can take time and it’s important for family and friends to be supportive. There are also many support groups and charities that offer advice, confidential counselling and information about the types of treatment available and where to get help all of these can be found on the NHS Direct website http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or by accessing the NHS Direct digital television service on Freeview or Sky Digital TV
For More information contact Simon Barber on 0207 599 4223 or 078765 96932 Out of Office Hours
NHS Direct is at the forefront of 24 hour health care delivering telephone and e-health information services day and night direct to the public
– NHS Direct provides health information and advice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
– NHS Direct handles around 6.5 million telephone calls a year
– The NHS Direct website http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk attracts up to 2 million visits each month
– NHS Direct on Freeview was launched just before Christmas 2006 and together with the service on Sky Digital means that over 14 million households have access to hundreds of pages packed with health information. These include:
- Answers to common health questions,
- Advice on healthy living such as: eating well, exercise and giving up smoking
- Information about NHS Services
- Features on long-term health conditions
- News on current health issues
– NHS Direct is accessed on Freeview by going to channel 108.
– NHS Direct Interactive on Sky Digital TV includes 3000 pages of information on 500 health topics.
– NHS Direct Interactive on Sky Digital is accessed by pressing the interactive button on the Sky Digital remote control, scrolling down to NHS Direct Interactive and pressing Select.
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