The major restructure will mean that the Trust will be able to offer GPs in central Norfolk and Norwich (City) direct links with locally-based and named mental health professionals.

With these mental health staff attending GP practices, they can then work together to provide more immediate assessment of people who may have complex mental health issues, and ensure a faster referral is made into appropriate secondary mental health services, when clinically required.

Debbie White, Director of Operations for NSFT said: “The community mental health teams will also have the ability to offer appointments in many GP practices rather than expect patients to travel to outpatient clinics further afield, so they can be treated closer to home and in more familiar surroundings.