Service Detail

Referral process for consultants and GPs

Referrals must be approved and funded by each patient’s local clinical commissioning group (CCG). GP location determines which CCG will fund the patient’s treatment. All patients must have a community mental health team (CMHT). The referral must confirm ongoing engagement and agreement for this to continue were the patient to be seen in the National Affective Disorders Service Outpatients’ Department.  

We welcome referrals from GPs and secondary care services and requires that prospective users of our service remain engaged with specialised services in the local area.  

That said, the clinicians will ask for patients’ referrals to come from their CMHT or psychiatrist as we need assurance the patient is engaged with and has ongoing care with their local team. 

We will always work with each service user’s local community mental health (secondary) team. We provide advice about diagnosis and treatment and often suggest treatment strategies to be implemented by the local secondary team. There is therefore no conflict and the service user’s responsible clinician remains the referring consultant. 

Medications

All patients’ medications recommended by us remain the responsibility of their referring team and/or their GP practice. 

Referring clinicians should include in the referral the criteria listed below. This informs the clinicians whether the client is suitable for assessment under the National Affective Disorders Service, and also gives the commissioning panel an in-depth snapshot of the patient’s condition together with past and current treatment. 

• ICD10
• Summary of treatments to date
• ECT and other physical treatments
• Psychotherapies
• Occupational therapy
• Other treatments
• A full risk assessment, ongoing crisis contact details - the care co-ordinator’s name, work address and phone number

Healthcare professionals

We also offer a service for healthcare professionals with mood disorders who prefer not to be treated in their local area for reasons of confidentiality. Although a specialist service, we are not specifically commissioned to see healthcare professionals, and we require all referred patients to be under the care of a local community mental health team before acceptance of a referral to our service. Where this may not be possible due to professional connections between patients and teams we ask that local arrangements with neighbouring mental health trusts be sought by the referrer to ensure referred patients are managed by a community mental health team prior to the acceptance of a referral to our service. 

Engagement with local services is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the safe implementation of treatment plans and to promptly address any risk issues which may arise and to also provide prescriptions when required and out of hours care if and when needed. Our role should complement and not replace the role of local management and care coordination which is crucial to each patient’s ongoing care. 

Assessment report

All patients are discharged back to their clinical leads on the day of the assessment. The treatment options discussed at the assessment will be incorporated into a clinical assessment report, which will be sent to the patient, their referrer and GP four to six weeks following the assessment. The assessment report will enable the patient’s local team to implement the recommendations made during the assessment. At the time of the assessment recommendations may be made for psychological treatment. The assessment and treatment plan is intended to supplement, not to replace, the local community health team (also referred to as local secondary care) which is a pre-requisite to referral. 

We do not fully process referrals until we have confirmation of funding from the CCG panel. Funding notification can take anywhere between two and 12 weeks depending on the commissioning group, (please note these are approximations). Once funding is confirmed we are informed by the National Account Management Team. Once notified we will contact the client with appointment details usually within four weeks of notification. 

We cannot offer appointments until we have been notified by the National Account Management Team that funding has been authorised. 

All referrals are closed at 12 weeks if funding is not received by this time. 

NHS self-fund

There is also an NHS self-funding option, under this option referrals satisfying the same criteria as listed above are sent directly to us by the referring consultant or GP. The referrals are also clinically considered for treatment at the next available referrals meeting. Under this option the prospective patient funds their one-off second opinion assessment or treatment themselves. Once payment has been received the client will like all other clients be considered for the next available appointment date. Please note, we are not a private clinic and all funds go back into the NHS. 

If you are entitled to funding as a UK resident from your CCG, we would recommend that you apply for funding for your treatment as your first option. 

NHS patients are funded by their CCG. Their GP's postcode determines which CCG to approach for funding. NHS patients whose assessment or treatment has been declined by their CCG, or overseas patients, have the option to self-fund. Please be aware that the Trust is not a preferred provider with any private medical insurer (PMI) and therefore your PMI may not be willing to fund your treatment. 

 

Maudsley Advanced Treatment Service (MATS) referrals 

MATS offers a specialized, fast-track, tertiary simplified referral service for patients with complex and difficult-to-treat affective disorders including: 

• treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
• difficult to treat depression (DTD)
• treatment-resistant bipolar depression (TRBD)
• treatment-resistant bipolar (TRB)

It provides these services for patients in the boroughs of Croydon, Lewisham, Lambeth and Southwark via local service without the need for a funding panel. For some patients, it also provides advanced treatments in collaboration with our Trust’s services, OPTIMA and NADS. 

MATS provide assessment, treatment recommendation and review follow-up appointments and advanced treatments which are outlined below: 

• assessment and review of current diagnosis and treatment
• electroconvulsive-therapy
• ketamine (sublingual and soon subcutaneous)
• esketamine (Intranasal)
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy
• rTMS
• complex and/or novel pharmacotherapy (including Virtual Lithium Clinic)

Send your referral

Attach this form to your referral:

national-affective-disorder-service-mats-demographic-information-for-new-patients-form.docx [docx] 21KB

Please email the referral to carol.bell2@slam.nhs.uk or by post to: 

National Affective Disorders Service
The Maudsley Hospital
c/o Lambeth Hospital
1st Floor McKenzie Annexe
Landor Road
London SW9 9NU

We are not an emergency service and do not see urgent patients. If emergency or urgent care is needed please contact a GP, community mental health team or local A&E.