About Practitioner Health

 

BACK TO MAIN INDEX

 

Practitioner Health is a free, confidential NHS primary care mental health and addiction service with expertise in treating health & care professionals.

The service can help with a range of mental health conditions and addictions in primary care settings.

A doctor

Practitioner Health is a self-referral service, although in some circumstances we are able to accept referrals from other organisations. The act of self-referral is key as this acknowledges recognition of need, preparedness to trust the service and willingness to engage in treatment.

At Practitioner Health we are able to provide comprehensive assessments and treatment of a wide range of mental health and addiction issues. This may include, and depending on the individual circumstances, a referral for talking therapy, group therapy, prescription medication, inpatient rehabilitation, fit notes.

 

Our Mission Statement

  • Practitioner Health aims to improve the clinical health and mental wellbeing of the workforce and support them to remain in or return safely to work.
  • It hopes to reduce the stigma of mental illness in those who provide care to others.
  • Through its delivery of care to the workforce, and engagement with the wider professions of health and care, the service aims to contribute to a collaborative and compassionate culture within health and social care.
  • The service aims to support the development of practitioner style services in other countries by sharing our learning and research, developing standards and training and coordinating networks to influence and deliver service improvement.

We are committed to raising the standards of clinical care for patients by:

  • Offering a wide range of services including new technologies and on-line options
  • Ensuring all communications with patients are clear and comprehensive to ensure that they are informed about their options
  • Providing systematic education, mentoring and training for clinical and non-clinical staff to ensure they provide the best possible care
 

What Practitioner Health Does Not Provide

It is important to say what we do not provide.

  • We are not a specialist mental health service, our specialism is in understanding the needs of healthcare professionals. This is a subtle but important distinction. We do not limit our care to any particular mental health disorder (such as depression or addiction), nor any patient demographic.
  • We are not an occupational health service. We help with returning healthcare professionals to work, but we do not carry out return to work assessments, or assessments which might be required to formulate reasonable adjustments.
  • We are not a replacement for mainstream NHS services, nor designed to offer a second opinion for mental or occupational health, nor is it a shortcut to obtaining a medico-legal opinion. Healthcare professionals who are currently supported by NHS mental health services are encouraged to remain with their local team.
  • We play no part in managing professional standards and have no role in overseeing healthcare professionals in disciplinary processes, supporting investigations into their practice or informing performance assessment processes.
  • We are unable to provide longer-term talking therapy. If we feel following assessment that this is what is most likely to help you then we can help guide your choices and signpost you accordingly however we are unable to provide or fund this directly.
  • We are not an emergency or urgent service but try to be as responsive as possible where healthcare professionals are in crisis.