A type of CARE SPELL.

A continuous period of care or assessment for an adult (including elderly) PATIENT provided by a HEALTH CARE PROVIDER's specialist mental health services. This includes the care or assessment of adult and elderly PATIENTS with drug or alcohol dependence but excludes child and adolescent psychiatry PATIENTS and PATIENTS whose only mental disorder is a learning disability. The specialist mental health services are delivered by mental health professionals, some of whom may receive referrals directly. Examples of mental health professionals would include consultants, clinical psychologists, community psychiatric nurses and mental health social workers any of whom could be nominated and allocated as the care coordinator to the PATIENT.

A MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL is initiated by a referral, or the temporary or permanent transfer of main responsibility for provision of mental health care for the PATIENT from another HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.

For referrals, the MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL commences with an initial assessment which will determine whether treatment or care by the HEALTH CARE PROVIDER's specialist mental health services is appropriate. If not appropriate, then the MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL will end. If treatment or care is required then this will usually be provided as part of the Care Programme Approach. Treatment or care provided as part of the Care Programme Approach will involve one or more CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH EPISODES each with one or more CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH REVIEWS.

The MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL addresses the mental health care of the PATIENT and as such may comprise a series of episodes, attendances, contacts or stays each of which will be recorded, for example CONSULTANT OUT-PATIENT EPISODES, CONSULTANT EPISODES (HOSPITAL PROVIDER), COMMUNITY EPISODES, CARE HOME STAY (NURSING CARE) and FACE TO FACE CONTACTS COMMUNITY CARES etc. These are recorded in addition to CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH EPISODES.

Treatment requiring the temporary transfer of the PATIENT to another HEALTH CARE PROVIDER with the main responsibility for provision of mental health care also being transferred, will end the current CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH EPISODE and initiate a MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL SUSPENSION. In cases of temporary transfer to another HEALTH CARE PROVIDER for physical care without the main responsibility for mental health care being transferred, both the current CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH EPISODE and the MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL will continue and the MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL will not be suspended.

Treatment requiring the permanent transfer of the PATIENT to another HEALTH CARE PROVIDER will initiate the ending of the current CARE PROGRAMME APPROACH EPISODE and the MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL.

The MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELL ends when all associated episodes, attendances or days are explicitly closed or ended by default where a PATIENT has received in-patient care terminated other than by transfer or death or had a current period of ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE (but still liable to detention), within the preceding 3 months.

This class is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPELLS