Consultant Psychiatrist
 
A Consultant Psychiatrist is a qualified doctor who specifically works in the Mental Health field. His/her role is often governed by the Mental Health Act 1983. They have the power to prescribe medications or treatments.
 
Occupational Therapists
 
An Occupational Therapist (OT) works with people using purposeful activity to help overcome or learn to accept their problems. An example might be working with somebody to improve their cooking skills or funding the development of their kitchen to make cooking easier. OTs have become valuable members of most Mental Health Teams.
 
Support Staff
 
If you are in contact with Mental Health Services it is likely that you will meet or have working with you various support staff who assist qualified workers with their roles. For example: if you are admitted to hospital you will meet healthcare support workers. In the community you might come across staff such as tenancy support workers or rehabilitation assistants.
 
Care Co-ordinator
 
In the past, many terms have been given to the main provider of care for a Service User, for example, you might have heard the terms Care Manager or Keyworker. Additionally, it also used to be the case that Service Users might have either or both a Community Psychiatric Nurse or Social Worker responsible for their care.
 
Now the system has changed. Service Users in contact with Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT's) should now have a Care Co-ordinator who can either be a Community Psychiatric Nurse or a Social Worker. This change reflects the fact that Health and Social Services now work together to provide support for individuals with mental health problems. You might hear the term "multi-disciplinary" used to describe different Mental Health teams.
 
The Care Coordinator will be the person responsible for arranging a person's care and support, This should make it easier for someone to get the help they need.
 
Named Nurse
 
If you are admitted to hospital, you will be allocated a Named Nurse. Although all nursing staff have a responsibility for your care, your Named Nurse should be available for you to get specific advice and support. A Named Nurse should introduce themselves to you as soon as is reasonably possible after admission. Their duties might include; offering one-to-one support, explaining medications to you, and assisting with your discharge. You will also be allocated a co-worker who will normally be an untrained member of staff or a Student Nurse.