Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Nurse Service
NHS Tayside RefGuide
Who to refer
Individuals aged 16 or over.
Registered with a Perth & Kinross GP.
Presenting with mild to moderate mental health issues.
Not currently engaged with other mental health services.
Who not to refer
Individuals already open to CMHT, Psychology, or IDART.
How to refer
Referrals can be made by any professional - GPs, practice nurses, or reception staff.
No referral form or SCI-Gateway is required.
Appointments are booked via the Vision appointment system by GP practice/reception staff.
Nurses have clinics within each GP practice, with availability opened four weeks in advance.
Specialty Description
We are a team of mental health nurses and mental health support workers, based in GP surgeries in Perth and Kinross, who deliver early intervention and prevention to people with mild to moderate mental health issues.
Patients are seen face to face and can be offered a wide range of support and interventions including:
Self-Help Resources
Our nurses and mental health support workers regularly use validated self-help resources, which include:
Computerised CBT programmes: Silvercloud, Daylight, and Sleepio.
Note: Some Silvercloud programmes require referral from a healthcare professional.
Additional resources: Mood Cafe, Centre for Clinical Interventions, NHS Inform, and Moodjuice.
Onward Referral Pathways
We refer individuals to a wide range of appropriate services, including:
Mental Health & Psychology Services: Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Psychiatry (including Old Age), Neuropsychology, CMHT, IDART, TAACT.
Therapeutic & Support Services: Occupational Therapy, Pain Management, Primary Care Support Workers, Crisis Team, CAMHS.
Third Sector & Community Services: Mindspace, The Neuk, MoveAhead, Ieso.
Social & Environmental Support: Housing support, welfare rights, Citizens Advice, employment support.
Other Services: Social Prescribing, Memory Clinic.
Face to face Recovery-Focused Support.
We provide short-term, one-to-one support for individuals experiencing mild to moderate mental health and wellbeing concerns. This includes:
Person-centred care focused on individual goals.
Support with anxiety management, graded exposure, resilience building, confidence development, behavioural activation, and community engagement.
Each of our three localities within P&K is supported by six Primary Care Mental Health Nurses and mental health senior support workers who deliver early intervention, group work, and short-term one-to-one support both in practices and in the community.
Perth City also have MoveAhead: Community mental health and wellbeing service for individuals aged 16+, offering holistic support across physical, mental, social, and occupational domains.
Third Sector Services
Mindspace: Commissioned third sector service offering counselling support.
Locality and Contact Information
All appointments can be booked via the person GP whom they are registered with.
Useful resources
Post-Referral Process
Patients are offered the next available appointment, typically within 1–14 days.
Most appointments are face-to-face unless a telephone consultation is specifically requested.
All patients are accepted unless they are already open to CMHT, Psychology, or IDART.
Consultation notes are recorded in Vision and are visible to the referring GP.
There is no formal written confirmation to the practice; Vision records serve as the communication.