State of psychiatric services in the UK

Abstract

In the UK, medical services, including psychiatric services, are all delivered under the broad umbrella of the National Health Service, which provides services free at the point of contact and according to need. In this paper we provide a brief historical overview of the National Health Service and illustrate changes leading to changes in the delivery of psychiatric services. Historical and political developments have contributed to changes in the way services develop and are delivered. The introduction of community mental health services and functionalized teams are a reflection of policy changes. We attempt here to offer a brief overview and note the lessons from history along with changes in healthcare delivery, development of new teams and psychiatric response to political and economic changes.

Acknowledgements

Parts of this paper have appeared in a longer chapter by Overshott et al. (2007).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.