Buckinghamshire Primary Care Mental Health Hub (PCMHH)

What we do

The Primary Care Mental Health Hub (PCMHH) Team brings together a range of health care professionals and support staff, to provide care and treatment to people in their own communities.

The aim is to deliver more proactive and responsive care for people when and where they need it most, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, secondary mental health referrals, or repeat GP appointments wherever possible.

How we work

The PCMHH teams aim to offer a collaborative approach to co-ordinate care for people with multiple long-term conditions. They do this by providing better, faster access to local services for patients at an earlier point in their care journey. PCMHH teams offer careful, holistic assessments based on a biopsychosocial care model.

Who we help

Many people will have social, psychological, economic and environmental factors that cause additional complexities to their needs. Hence the care response needs to be fully integrated across health, social care, housing, employment, benefits and voluntary sectors.

Our objectives

The key objectives of Primary CMHH teams include:

  • Improving outcomes for Severely Mentally Ill (SMI) and Personality Disorder patients
  • Improving access to psychological offers
  • Delivering an improved, holistic offer for physical health
  • Improving levels of employment and training access
  • Offering patients better and faster access to Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) services, improving social outcomes
  • Offering smoother transitions between services
  • Reducing re-referrals i.e. treating people multiple times
  • Ensuring the voice of the service user is clearly heard
Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF)

The Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF) is a national initiative from NHS England to improve mental health services for those experiencing severe mental illnesses (SMI) across the country.

At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, the CMHF programme implementation is governed locally to ensure it is relevant and tailored towards the needs of local people.

In Buckinghamshire, the CMHF consists of the below key focus areas:

  1. Bucks Adult Gateway for adult mental health referrals
  2. Personality Disorder Service; including PCMHH Psychology Therapies, Service User Network, and High Intensity Needs
  3. Eating Disorder Service
  4. Community Rehabilitation (SMI)
  5. Mental Health Practitioners within Primary Care (ARRS)

Advice and guidance

The Mental Health Advice & Guidance Service allows GPs to send queries about mental health and psychiatric issues directly to a Senior Mental Health Practitioner within the Oxford Health Gateway Team.

If needed they will escalate directly to the Gateway general Adult or Older Adult Consultants. You can expect a response within 3 working days via the E-Referral System.

Clinical questions, including diagnostic queries, such as which service might be most appropriate for the patient can be submitted if the patient is sufficiently well to remain in primary care.

The service is now live for Buckinghamshire

Referrals (professional referrals only)

  • Response times: 3 working days
  • Hours of operation: 9.00am to 5.00pm
  • Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays

The service name is accessed via the E-Referral System (Choose and Book).

The Pharmaceutical Advice and Guidance Service allows GPs to send medication queries directly to the Mental Health Pharmacist Team at Oxford Health who respond within three working days via the E-Referral System. Queries can be in relation to Oxford Health patients and non-patients.

Please note: this is not a referral route and referrals to Adult Mental Health Service should continue to be raised via the usual way. The service aims to respond within three working days of the request.

  • Hours of operation: 9am to 5pm
  • Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)

Referrals (professional referrals only)

  • Service name on E-Referral System:
    • Bucks Adult MH Gateway Pharmacy
    • Advice and Guidance – Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust – RNU
  • Clinic type: Not Otherwise Specified
  • Priority: Routine (only)
  • Appointment type: Advice Request

The SUN is a community support group for people with a personality disorder or complex emotional needs. SUN provides regular community-based peer support groups offering opportunity for people to share experiences and support one another in a non-judgemental and understanding environment.

This is a self-referral service for adults aged 18 and over who live in Buckinghamshire and are registered with a Buckinghamshire GP.

Members are not required to have a formal diagnosis of personality disorder.

A self-referral form can be obtained by contacting the SUN team to express an interest or can be found on the SUN web page listed below.

Our partners

Psychological Therapies

The Psychological Therapies service sees people with SMI (severe and complex mental health and emotional problems) including difficulties associated with personality disorder, whose needs are too severe for Talking Therapies and not severe enough for secondary thresholds.

Referrals via Primary Care or GP only

Elmore - Intensive 1:1 Community Support

Elmore Community Services works with adults ‘falling through the gaps’; people with complex and multiple needs requiring additional support but unable to receive this for various reasons (e.g. too chaotic, unable/willing to engage, not meeting criteria).

Referrals via Primary Care or GP only

Individual Placement & Support (IPS)

IPS is an evidence-based model of supported employment. It has been rigorously trialled and has consistently outperformed all other tested forms of support for job seekers with severe and enduring mental health problems.

Referrals via Primary Care or GP only

Lindengate - Mental Health charity

Lindengate support people with common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress by offering therapeutic nature-based sessions and programmes at our 6-acre site in Wendover, Buckinghamshire.

Referrals via Primary Care or GP only

Sport in Mind

Sport in Mind is a mental health sports charity dedicated to aiding recovery, improving mental well-being and physical health, combating social isolation, and empowering people to move their lives forward in a positive direction.

Self and professional referrals accepted

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Page last reviewed: 3 September, 2024