Planning your care and support

Every person who uses our services receives an assessment of their mental health needs and a plan of the care and support they will receive.

Everybody who uses our services also has one named person who co-ordinates their care and support. This person will be called either a named professional or, if your needs are more complex, a care co-ordinator or named professional.

This person should be your main point of contact and you can talk with them about how your treatment and support are going.

Care planning and crisis planning
Your care co-ordinator or named professional will work with you to come up with a written plan describing the care and support you will receive from us. This is called a care plan and you will be given a copy to keep. The plan will be revised regularly.

The care plan will also cover:

• Steps you can take to keep mentally well
• any support provided by the local social services department
• issues relating to health, medication, housing, income and employment
• issues about support from carers, family or friends.

Your care co-ordinator or named professional will be someone involved in your care such as a psychiatrist, social worker or community mental health nurse.

Everyone involved in the care plan will be offered a copy including you, your carer (if applicable) and your GP.

If you have developed an advance statement of wishes (also sometimes called an Advance Directive) you may wish to include some of this in your care plan. Your care co-ordinator or named professional will be able to help you do this.

You can find more about care planning in our patient information leaflets.