Mental health toolkit
The Mental Health Toolkit may be used by any primary care professional or general practice in the UK. It is designed to collate resources which inform and support delivery of high quality mental health care in the primary care setting. It is arranged by clinical topic, and there are also sections collating important national and international guidelines and key documents for those involved in service design and commissioning. Patients, carers, and GPs concerned about their own mental health, may also find the toolkit useful.
Introduction
Around 40 per cent of GP appointments now involve mental healthRC (Mind 2018) and complexity is increasing with rising referral to secondary care (BMA 2017). Despite this, 90% of mental conditions are exclusively cared for in primary care (NHS England, 2017). The resources here will assist you with early assessment, recognition, management and support of patients with mental health difficulties and those close to them.
More information on the RCGP’s perspective on the provision of mental health care in primary care can be found in the RCGP Position Statement (2017) (PDF file).
Each section of the toolkit is divided into four sections, helping you find the information you need easily:
- Guidelines: Guidelines from a variety of national and international sources are collated for quick access to the latest evidence-based practice.
- Useful resources: This is a list of non-guideline resources that practitioners may find helpful in the clinical assessment and management of patients with mental health conditions.
- Patient and carer information: A collection of resources, information and support that it might be helpful to signpost your patients and their families/carers to.
- Further reading: This highlights sources of further learning - these are available in a variety of formats, including elearning, academic blogs, podcasts and reading.