Mental health system overview
1 in 5 people in contact with mental health services in England are age 65 and above, which will increase as the population ages (Davidson, 2021). Commissioners should ensure the full range of services for mental health problems are available for older people (Raffertys, 2013). These services should take into consideration that a high proportion of older people live with both physical and mental health conditions (Stickland & Gentry, 2016); and should be developed through coproduction, to ensure uptake and that older people are empowered (The Association of Directors of Public Health, 2018).
The table below gives a simplified overview of key mental health services for working-age adults and older adults in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), access to specialist services for older adults is based around need (dementia, difficulties related to ageing and physical illness or frailty) rather than age (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2015), so some adults aged 65+ who are supported by ‘working-age adult’ services.
Table 8: NHS mental health services for working-age and older adults in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. * Older people’s mental health services have access to PDCS for consultation, but this service is not commissioned for over 65s. # The Stepped Care Therapies team includes the Living Well in Psychosis team, which offers recovery based psychiatric rehabilitation for people 65+ with long-term psychosis.
There are no specific pathways for older adults in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with complex emotional needs or eating disorders; as well as no forensic mental health services for this age group. This table does not include all available services, such as support from voluntary and community sector organisations and adult social care. There are also memory assessment services, which assess and support people with memory problems.
The previous section of the mental health needs assessment looks at the mental health system for older adult through the lens of demand, flow, capacity and outcomes.
Additional resources
- The local data pack gives an overview of key data and trends
- Guidance for commissioners of older people’s mental health services
- Guidance on co-production with older people
- Beyond barriers: how older people move between health and care in England
- Bridges not walls: Good practice guidance for transition and cooperation between mental health services for older patients
- Older People’s Mental Health Competency Framework highlights key competencies for staff around older people’s mental health. See also training on depression in older people
References
Full list of references is included at the end of this chapter.