Early Intervention in Psychosis Team (EIP) – Gateshead

This leaflet provides you with information that you will find useful during your time with the Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Service

We want to offer you as much help and support as you feel you need, to enable you to live the life you want. If you are not sure about anything in this leaflet please ask a member of staff or speak to your Care Co-Ordinator.

The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service works with people who are experiencing a first episode of Psychosis

The support you receive from this service can help you to recover from your psychotic episode. It can also help to reduce the likelihood of experiencing further psychotic episodes in the future.

The service is made up of a team of professionals (including nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists) who have lots of experience in working with people with psychosis. You will meet someone from the service who will talk to you and your family (if you wish), about what you have been experiencing. This person is known as a Care Co-ordinator.

The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service offers help to people aged 14-65 years who are experiencing first symptoms of psychosis, as well as providing help to their families.

Anyone can refer a person to the service if they are concerned, this could be
self referral, a family member, teacher, school counsellor, youth worker as well as health professionals such as GP, care co-ordinator or consultant psychiatrist.

Two members of the team will visit you at home, or wherever is most convenient, to see if this is the right service for you. If so, you will be given a named care co-ordinator who will work with you to find out what support you need and agree how we can help.

You will have the opportunity to meet other team members who may be involved in your care.

The team can help in a variety of different ways, such as:
• Work with you in overcoming any difficulties that you might have
• Help you understand your symptoms
• Help you develop new ways of coping
• Help you develop daily living skills, like shopping and travelling on the metro
• Offer you social and group activities
• Help you access education or employment/voluntary work
• Offer your family support
• Offer psychological therapy
• Help you with any medication needs
• Find suitable housing
• Help with money management and welfare benefits
• Support you to attend GP appointments

EIP is available 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday.

All of the members of the Early Intervention Service work to very strict rules on confidentiality. Everything you tell the service, will be kept confidential and will only be shared among the professionals working with you. The only exception to this would be if we feel there was a risk to you or to someone else. If this happened, we might have to share information with other agencies, but we would talk to you about this first.

If you have any concerns at all about confidentiality, please speak to your Care Co-ordinator or another member of the service.

Trust staff carry devices that can monitor and record abusive behaviour. They can alert and receive support from emergency services and the recordings may be used in court proceedings.

Contact Nexus Traveline: Tel: 0871 200 22 33

Website: www.traveline.info/

Staff can arrange an interpreter if you need one.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:
• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website www.cntw.nhs.uk (click on the ‘Contact Us’ tab)
• telephone the Complaints Department 0191 245 6672
• email complaints@cntw.nhs.uk Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk
• We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.
You can provide feedback in the following ways:
– the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/poy
– complete a Points of You survey, available from staff.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation Trust
Tel: 0191 246 6800

Patient and Carer Involvement Team
Tel: 01670 501 816

• Hearing Voices Network
www.hearing-voices.org
Provides information about self-help groups for people who hear voices.

• Rethink Mental Illness Advice Line
Advice line: 0300 500 0927 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm)
www.rethink.org
Provides information on support groups and other services.

• Eppic
https://oyh.org.au/
Australian website that provides information on psychosis.

• The early warning symptom intervention for patients with bipolar affective disorder. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2004), vol. 10, 18-26. Richard Morriss

• Schizophrenia: early warning signs. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2000), vol. 6, pp. 93-101. Birchwood et al.

• Report on early detection and intervention for young people at risk of psychosis (2008)

Gateshead Early Intervention in Psychosis Service
Dryden Education Centre
Evistones Road
Gateshead
NE9 5UR
Tel: 0191 223 2020
Referrals email: ntawnt.eipgateshead@nhs.net

The service is available: Monday- Friday, 9am-5pm

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be
obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think
about this leaflet please get in touch.
This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio,
larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information
Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288
Published by the Patient Information Centre
2022 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ref, PIC/534/0222 February 2022 V8
www.cntw.nhs.uk Tel: 0191 246 7288
Review date 2025