Making the right Mental Health Choices for You
We’re going to focus on Emmalene Garratt who is a Mental Health Nurse, to show how we approach your mental health here at DHU.
It’s a relatively new and developing service for reviewing referrals for children and young people who need support with their emotional wellbeing or mental health. Emmalene’s role is to look at, assess and triage referrals from GPs, school nurses and social services, advising and referring on to the most appropriate service or offering signposting information.
Emmalene, who joined DHU in February 2021, said: “My background is Mental Health Nursing; I previously managed a CAMHS Crisis Team in Birmingham. This role is very different as I have no direct contact with the patient but I can use judgment from my extensive clinical experience to help young people get the help they need.
“It’s a way of using my role remotely to help as many patients as possible and ensure that GPs, school services and social services have a way to access expert mental health advice. We are a small team, just myself triaging the referrals at present with admin support, but because my role is remote, I can triage referrals across a large geographical area.”
The team’s name is The Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Triage and Navigation Service and they cover the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland area. As well as triaging patients, Emmalene liaises very closely with the services to where she refers patients on, as part of a streamlined and joined up approach to what many people recognise as a growing problem.
Emmalene added: “I joined DHU halfway through the pandemic and I’ve seen the number of referrals triple in some cases. I’ll triage, on average, 150 cases per week working closely with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), the Early Intervention Service and a number of statutory and non-statutory support networks and teams. People talk about a mental health crisis but it is a positive thing that people are talking and reaching out for support.
“I enjoyed having that close contact with patients but this role is an important way of exploring and treating mental health. It would be very difficult for me to physically see those 150 patients but, having previously worked very closely with young people, I have gained awareness of emotional and mental health challenges. Having that insight enables me to use that experience to help these patients get the right support. Like all health services, urgent referrals need help quickly, some referrals made need to be directed to urgent or crisis services.”
But as is the case with the entire health system, just because mental health services are busy, doesn’t mean that people should ignore their mental health. The pandemic has changed the way people view their own wellbeing and looking after yourself is important for both body and mind.
“The pandemic has caused a ripple effect,” adds Emmalene, “with people reflecting on their experiences and having a reaction further down the line. The impact on young people has been profound; they spent a long time apart from friends, not interacting with people, which is bound to cause anxieties either during that time or when they were finally able to socially interact again. That’s why it’s important for families and schools to look out for children and recognise behavioural changes, share your thoughts and talk about resilience to acknowledge that sometimes things may not go as planned or as wanted, but that’s okay.
“Talking gives you a different perspective and enables you to look at yourself differently. What we’re seeing is a normalisation that talking about your feelings and admitting that things might not be okay is an acceptable thing to do, in fact it should be encouraged. Some mental health problems can be rectified very easily, especially when picked up early, the pandemic has brought mental health to the forefront and I’m pleased that we’re able to recognise and talk about that.”
Thanks to Emmalene for telling us about her role and keep your eyes peeled for DHU’s next #WhatDoYouDo.
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