How does our service work?

Are you an adult living with serious mental illness who would like help with managing symptoms, a difficult situation, or moving forward?

If you are not currently on the waiting list for or receiving treatment from another NHS mental health service, we may be for you.

With your consent our teams work locally with your GP surgery to offer:

  • A range of choices  
  • Physical health checks
  • Help with diet, exercise, sleep and quitting smoking
  • Help to join community group activities
  • Help to improve your mental wellbeing
  • Mental health skills and information courses
  • Medication reviews and advice
  • Employment support
  • Advice and signposting to other services

Accessing our service

Step one - Ask your GP

Speak with your doctor to arrange an initial conversation with a member of the team.

Step two - An initial conversation with us

Your appointment will be a confidential 30 minute phone call booked by your GP practice. Other options can be provided based on reasonable adjustments and requested at time of booking. The date and time will be sent to you by post, email, or SMS text.

Before your appointment, you will receive a survey to help map your journey with us.

Your initial conversation will be with an experienced mental health nurse, occupational therapist or social worker with training in assessing mental health to understand your current mental health needs. It is not part of your treatment but a way to make sure you can get the right help. We know that talking about your situation may be difficult. You only need to tell us what you feel comfortable with sharing. We are keen to hear what you would like us to help you achieve.

Please be ready for our call and find a safe, quiet space to talk if your appointment is virtual. The call will last about 30 minutes.

Step three - Recommendations

At the end of your initial conversation, you will receive recommendations for your next steps. You may be offered one of these options:

  1. To work with one or more professionals from our team to plan your treatment. You will be given information of what to expect from the service or services, and an estimate  of when this is likely to start
  2. To be provided with information about local support services you can access yourself, when you are ready to
  3. To be referred or supported to access somewhere better placed to meet your needs. We will explain the next steps with you at the end of the call. The outcome of this will be fed back to your GP
Step four - Treatment

You will have an agreed number of sessions with one or more of our staff team in the NHS or with our community partners.

All help we offer is based on evidence about what meets the needs of people with serious mental illness.

During your treatment you will be asked to fill out a short survey to let us know how you feel. Your answers help us see how treatment makes a difference to your quality of life.

Step five - Feedback

We would appreciate your feedback so we can improve. You will receive a text with a link to some questions. Please spare five minutes to help us improve our service.

Further information

If you miss your initial conversation and would like to rebook please speak to your GP.

If you need to reschedule the call or have special requirements, please contact our administration team on 0114 226 4526 or sct-ctr.pcmht-admin@nhs.net

Patient stories

Read what our patients have to say.

Associated services

Find out more about the organisations that make all of this possible.

Urgent help

If you or someone you care for is in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111.

This page has all the advice and guidance you need to keep yourself or a loved one safe.

If your mental health is affecting your physical health, please talk to your GP.

Your consent

Your consent to our input with your care is really important and should be obtained by your GP if they refer you to our team. Your GP should only refer you to us with your consent. If you self-refer, you will be asked to give your consent to us supporting you as part of the registration process.  

We may also ask you for further consent to refer you to other services who may be able to help you.  

We could also ask for your consent or to share your information with wider services involved in your care, support, and treatment. This is to help us to work more effectively with other organisations involved in your care to ensure we are all working towards the best outcomes for you. You may change or withdraw your consent at any time.

Who might help with my care, support and treatment?

Our teams are made up of a wide range of NHS and community professionals to ensure we provide the support that suits you best.

Rather than being seen by one single person, you may be supported by a range of people, each with a different set of specialist skills to help you.

Here are some of the people you could meet:

The first person you will hear from will be a mental health practitioner. They will assess your situation and work with you to plan what support you need going forward.

A mental health practitioner is a social worker, nurse, or occupational therapist with additional mental health training.

A psychological therapist helps you understand how different aspects of your difficulties fit together and what it is that you wish to change.

We have clinical psychologists and clinical associate psychologists who will help you make sense of your distress and find ways of coping.

They create a plan of psychological interventions that will enable you to achieve your goals in a way that is meaningful to you and improves your life and wellbeing.

These people help with goals such as improving sleep, improving self-esteem, or managing symptoms.

Peer support workers are members of our team who use their own experience of having mental illness to help you. Because they’ve experienced mental illness, they ‘get it’ and can be easier to talk to than a professional with learned experience.  

They may work with you one-to-one or in support groups.

Work is a big part of our lives, whether we are looking for a job or facing discrimination in an existing role. Our employment specialists are here to help you find the right work for you and help you access any in-work support you may be entitled to.

Our pharmacists are experts in the best use of mental health medications and are here to help get your medication right for you. 

Sadly, people with severe mental illness experience lower life expectancies and poorer physical health than those without. Health coaches carry out annual health checks to look for early signs of physical conditions and can help you to reduce the risks of developing such conditions.

Occupational therapists help people overcome barriers to their goals and access the activities that keep them well. They may help you access community groups or find a way to take up a hobby.

Community connectors are our specialist social prescribers who know about all of the support and activities provided by community organisations. They can help you build a social network for ongoing support.

STEP is our programme of online and in-person courses to help you understand more about your condition so you can manage your symptoms. In-person courses are based at The Circle, near West Street.

The administration team works with all of the people involved in your care to help to ensure everything is planned and organised. You may also speak to the them if you need to contact the service with any questions or queries about your support.

What if I have a problem?

Our local teams are supported by a small, central administrative team who you can contact to reschedule appointments or give feedback.

Please visit the contact us page to get in touch.

Everybody accessing this service will be offered a minimum of three appointments. This includes face-to-face and virtual appointments.

If you do not cancel your appointment and do not attend, or if you cancel your appointment less than 24 hours beforehand, we will try to contact you and book another appointment.

If you do not attend three consecutive appointments, we will ask you to opt-in to continued contact with the service. This will be through a letter sent to you.

If you respond to this then we will book another appointment. If you do not respond to this, or do not attend another appointment afterwards, we will need to consider discharging you from the service. This decision will depend on any other circumstances we should consider.

You can read our full policy on appointments and missed appointments here.

In special circumstances, we will need to make decisions about whether or not to transfer your treatment to a different team attached to your GP practice in Sheffield, for example if you move home and register with a different GP in the city or if you move to Sheffield from elsewhere. 

When this happens, we will try to prioritise continuity of care for you, and at all times we will communicate with you in a planned and structured way. This may be in written form or verbally.

You can read our full patient transfer and special allocation scheme process here.

Related content

How we are transforming mental healthcare

Find out about the programme which has seen organisations and people across Sheffield come together to develop this new service - an integrated primary and community mental health offer for those with serious mental illness (SMI).

Patient stories

Hear from patients about the experiences they have had with the Sheffield Primary and Community Mental Health Service.

Associated services

Find out about the services in Sheffield which are associated with the Primary and Community Mental Health Service.

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