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Occupational therapist involved in telephone support service

Thursday 29th January 2009

An occupational therapist is among a team of medical professionals involved in a new initiative to help people in psychological distress.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust - which employs a total of around 7,500 people - has set up a crisis team that is available 24 hours a day.

What is different about the service compared with most similar offerings across the UK is that patients can refer themselves, rather than having to go through their GP, local paper the Evening Chronicle reports.

Emma Bailey, the clinical lead of the crisis team, said: "Because a client can refer themselves, this usually means that they can access help at a time when they need it most."

She added that patients do not have to wait until the next working day, during which time their situation could have worsened.

As well as the occupational therapist, the crisis team is staffed by nurses, a social worker and a psychiatrist.

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