In both physical and mental healthcare, it is vitally important to be able to access support or treatment. The most effective form of treatment that can be offered in mental healthcare is that which is available, accessible and affordable. Much has been reported about the length of waiting lists for all types of healthcare and how damaging this can be both to the possibility of recovery and current impact of being in a state of dis-ability.
It has become commonplace in recent years for healthcare to become difficult to access due to a shortage of resources and funding. People that have to wait a long time suffer in that period and through that process. Both physical and mental health concerns do not ‘magically’ disappear without support, the sooner this support is available the greater the chances a person can resume living their life in a manner that they find acceptable and beneficial. The government introduced a programme to tackle these waiting lists in 2010 but recent reports suggest that over 50% of people are still waiting for a mental health assessment for over 5 months and over 100,000 people decide to drop out after assessment due to the length of time between their initial assessment and the opportunity of treatment. For many reasons, this position has not been addressed satisfactorily at a national or local level.
EASE Wellbeing is a community interest company that promotes an ethos of engagement and attention to each person swiftly and effectively and has demonstrated its effectiveness over 15 years in the area of mental health concerns with over 85% of people experiencing significant recovery within 6 weeks of referring themselves and over 99% of people expressing a level of satisfaction with the service. A major contributing factor is our commitment to providing our clients with a pathway to expert help in a matter of days. Having access to help as soon after first contact as possible is key to successful treatment and unlocks the door to recovery.
One of our core principles is that we do not have waiting lists. We respond to all referrals the same day and are able to offer an assessment within five days of request. It takes courage to ask for help and we believe that we ought to respond in a timely manner in order to communicate a message of hope that help is on the way very shortly.
