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Showing results for tags 'Mental health'.
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News Article
NHS 'failing' patients living with HIV
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The failure to address the mental-health needs of people with HIV could lead to an increase in infections, a cross-party group of MPs suggests. People with HIV are twice as likely to experience mental-health difficulties. However, in those with depression, support raises adherence to medication by 83%. But most HIV clinics have no mental-health professionals on staff, which, the MPs say, could be reversing progress made over the past decade toward ending the epidemic in the UK. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on HIV and AIDS met with patients living with HIV at a range of hospital trusts throughout England, as well as numerous healthcare professionals. Unless serious mental-health treatment shortfalls are addressed, the government will fail to achieve its target of zero transmissions by 2030, its report says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 March 2020- Posted
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News ArticleNeglect and serious failures by the Home Office and multiple other agencies contributed to the death of a vulnerable man who died from hypothermia, dehydration and malnutrition in an immigration removal centre, an inquest has found. Prince Fosu, a 31-year-old Ghanaian national, died in October 2012 when his naked body was found on the concrete floor of his cell in Harmondsworth, a detention centre near Heathrow. He had been experiencing a psychotic episode but he was not referred for a mental health assessment due to “gross failures” by all agencies to recognise the need to provide appropriate care to a person unable to look after himself. Four GPs, two nurses, two Home Office contract monitors, three members of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) and countless detention custody officers and managers who visited him failed to take any meaningful steps, the inquest found. Three doctors have since been referred to the UK’s medical watchdog for their alleged failures relating to the death of Mr Fosu on recommendation of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), who said the care he received fell “considerably below acceptable standards”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 March 2020
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News Article
Young people put at risk by delays for treatment
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than 70 children and young people have been put at risk by long delays in treatment by mental health services in Kent and Medway, HSJ has learned. According to a response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by HSJ, 205 harm reviews have been carried out for patients waiting for treatment following a referral to the North East London Foundation Trust, which runs the child and adolescent mental health services in Kent and Medway. Of those, 76 patients, who had all waited longer than the 18 week target time for treatment, were found to be at risk of harm. One patient had to be seen immediately as they were judged to be at “severe” risk. Seven were found to be at “moderate” risk and 68 at “low” risk. The trust said “risk” meant a risk of harm to themselves or others. But it said none of the 76 patients had come to actual harm. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 February 2020- Posted
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Patients at risk in ‘crumbling’ mental health wards, NHS leaders warn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patient safety is at risk in “crumbling” NHS mental health hospitals starved of the money needed to improve dilapidated buildings, new data has revealed. Hundreds of vulnerable mentally ill patients are still being cared for in 350 old dormitory-style wards, 20 years after the NHS was told to provide all patients with en-suite rooms. A lack of funding to refurbish hospitals has also meant too many wards still have ligature points that patients can use to try to harm themselves. NHS leaders said the lack of cash from the government meant they could not deal with warnings issued by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the sector’s watchdog. A survey of mental health trust leaders by NHS Providers has now found bosses are worried the state of psychiatric wards is undermining their ability to keep patients safe. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 February 2020- Posted
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News Article
NHS "took 18 months to help after suicide attempt"
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Poor treatment and aftercare for people who self-harm or attempt suicide is putting their lives at risk, the Royal College of Psychiatrists says. Many patients treated in A&E for self-harm do not receive a full psychosocial assessment from a mental health professional to assess suicide risk. Simon Rose, who has attempted suicide many times, told BBC News it once took 18 months to receive aftercare. NHS England said reducing suicide rates was an "NHS priority". Last year, UK suicide rates rose for the first time since 2013, with people born in the 1960s and 1970s being the most vulnerable. Experts are now calling for all self-harm patients to be offered a safety plan – an agreed set of bespoke activities and guidelines to help them deal with depressive episodes. Dr Huw Stone, who chairs the patients' safety group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said patients, especially those under 30, were being systematically let down in their most vulnerable state. "With hospital admissions for self-harming under-30s more than doubling in the last 10 years, there has never been a more important time to ensure patients are getting the care that they need," he said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 February 2020 -
News ArticleThe former police chief who investigated mental health services in a crisis-hit health board was “shocked” by the poor working relationships and “blame shifting” he uncovered. David Strang, who led the independent inquiry into the issues in NHS Tayside, said staff felt isolated and unsupported and people complained about each other’s practices without coming together to sort the issues out. He described asking staff questions based on information he had received and being met with the response: “Who told you?” He added: “A lot of staff felt there was a real blame culture and that risk and blame fell to the front line.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: 6 February 2020, The Times
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News Article
Up to 100,000 on antipsychotics with no review
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A national strategy is needed to tackle health risks linked to antipsychotic drugs because current policy is letting tens of thousands of people fall through the gaps, commissioners in London are warning. Commissioners and clinicians in City and Hackney found more than 1,000 patients in their area who were on these drugs without having regular medication reviews or health checks. They warned that, if their findings applied across England, 100,000 patients could be in the same position. Although NHS England funds GP practices to carry out regular health checks on patients who are on the serious mental illness register, this excludes patients who are prescribed antipsychotics without having an SMI diagnosis — which typically covers psychoses, schizophrenia or bipolar active disorder. An audit by City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group, carried out in July 2019 and shared with HSJ, found 1,200 patients in the area were taking antipsychotics but did not have a formal SMI diagnosis. The audit found most of these patients were not receiving regular health checks and a significant number may have benefited from having their medication reduced. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 January 2020- Posted
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News ArticleLloydsPharmacy is piloting an innovative new service that offers extra help and support to mental health patients. Funded by The National Institute for Health Research Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR GM PSTRC), which is a partnership between The University of Manchester and Salford Royal, the pilot is being carried out in ten community pharmacies in Greater Manchester. The new service, referred to as AMPLIPHY, enables pharmacists to provide personalised support to people who have been newly prescribed a medicine for depression or anxiety, or those who have experienced a recent change to their prescription. The pilot programme has been funded and designed by researchers at the NIHR GM PSTRC in collaboration with LloydsPharmacy. Central to the programme is the ability for patients to lead the direction of support they receive. They set their own goals and objectives and the pharmacist supports them in these. Professor Darren Ashcroft, Deputy Director of the NIHR Greater Manchester PSTRC, said: "The NIHR Greater Manchester PSTRC focuses on improving patient safety across four themes, which include Medication Safety and Mental Health. AMPLIPHY covers two of these areas and we believe it has the potential to make a difference to patients, by providing enhanced support for their care in the community." The pilot is set to run until April 2020 when its impact will be evaluated before a decision is made on the next steps. Read full story Source: News-Medical.net, 22 January 2020
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News ArticleThe Care Quality Commission (CQC) missed multiple opportunities to identify abuse of patients at a privately run hospital and did not act on the concerns of its own members, an independent review has found. Bosses at the CQC have been criticised in an independent report by David Noble into why the regulator buried a critical report into Whorlton Hall hospital, in County Durham, in 2015. His report published today said the CQC was wrong not to make public concerns from one of its inspection teams in 2015. “The decision not to publish was wrong,” his report said, adding: “This was a missed opportunity to record a poorly performing independent mental health institution which CQC as the regulator, with the information available to it, should have identified at that time.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 22 January 2020
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News Article
Care firm's leadership criticised by Care Quality Commission
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised concerns about the treatment of patients at mental health units run by Cygnet. It follows inspections in the wake of a BBC Panorama investigation about alleged abuse at Wharlton Hall in County Durham. The CQC found that patients under the firm's care were more likely to be restrained. Higher rates of self-harm were also noted by inspectors who quizzed managers and analysed records at the company's headquarters. The regulator also found a lack of clear lines of accountability between the executive team and its services. It said directors' identity and disclosure and barring service checks had been carried out, butd that required checks had not been made to ensure that directors and board members met the "fit and proper" person test for their roles. Systems used to manage risk were also criticised, while training for intermediate life support was not provided to all relevant staff across services where physical intervention or rapid tranquilisation was used. Cygnet runs more than 100 services for vulnerable adults and children, caring for people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and eating disorders. The CQC says Cygnet must now take immediate action to address the concerns raised. Cygnet said a number of the services highlighted have since been improved, but "we are not complacent and take on board recommendations where we must improve". Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 January 2020- Posted
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News Article
Dublin mental health centre falls short on physical restraint code
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A Dublin mental health centre has failed to comply with the code of practice on physical restraint for four consecutive years, an inspection report has found. The 39-bed Elm Mount Unit at St Vincent’s University Hospital said the issue was now high risk. Two episodes were recorded by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) where the staff member responsible for leading the physical restraint did not monitor the person’s head or airway, and that this went undocumented. In another case, inspectors noted, the physical restraint was not reviewed by members of the multidisciplinary team and recorded correctly. There was also concern regarding the administration of medicine, specifically deficits in the prescription and administration record “which could potentially lead to medication errors”. Read full story Source: The Irish Times, 17 December 2019 -
News Article
Mental health: North Wales A&E support scheme extended
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A "life-changing" mental health service at three hospitals in north Wales is to be expanded to GP surgeries. More than 2,500 people have used 'I Can' centres at Glan Clwyd, Gwynedd and Wrexham Maelor hospitals since the trial was launched earlier this year. The centres offer support to patients at A&E departments who may not require medical treatment or a bed. They employ both volunteers and paid staff, many of whom have experienced mental health issues themselves. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said the service allowed people to talk about mental health issues away from wards. It hopes extending the scheme to GP surgeries and community hubs will allow people to get support close to home if they do not need medical treatment. Read full story Source: 9 December 2019 -
News Article
Long waits 'leave mental health patients in limbo'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients with mental health problems are being left in limbo on "hidden" waiting lists by England's NHS talking therapy service, the BBC can reveal. The service, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, provides therapy, such as counselling, to adults with conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. It starts seeing nine in 10 patients within the target time of six weeks, but that masks the fact many then face long waits for regular treatment. Half of patients waited over 28 days, and one in six longer than 90 days, between their first and second sessions in the past year. Charities said the headline target was giving a false impression of what was happening, warning that patients were facing "hidden waits" that were putting their health at risk. NHS England acknowledged the pressure on the system was causing delays, but pointed out that despite the delays, half of patients given treatment still recovered. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 December 2019 -
News ArticleHow many people die in California psychiatric facilities has been a difficult question to answer. No single agency keeps tabs on the number of deaths at psychiatric facilities in California, or elsewhere in the nation. In an effort to assess the scope of the problem, The Times submitted more than 100 public record requests to nearly 50 county and state agencies to obtain death certificates, coroner’s reports and hospital inspection records with information about these deaths. The Times review identified nearly 100 preventable deaths over the last decade at California psychiatric facilities. It marks the first public count of deaths at California’s mental health facilities and highlights breakdowns in care at these hospitals as well as the struggles of regulators to reduce the number of deaths. The total includes deaths for which state investigators determined that hospital negligence or malpractice was responsible, as well as all suicides and homicides, which experts say should not occur among patients on a psychiatric ward. It does not include people who died of natural causes or other health problems while admitted for a psychiatric illness. Read full story Source: Los Angeles Times, 1 December 2019
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News Article
Six hospitals plummeted to ‘inadequate’ in wake of Whorlton Hall
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated six mental health hospitals “inadequate”, just months after describing them as either “good” or “outstanding”, since the Whorlton Hall scandal was revealed. HSJ analysis shows that of the 13 mental health hospitals admitting people with learning disabilities or autism which have been rated “inadequate” by the CQC since May this year, six of them dropped at least two ratings in a short space of time. The six hospitals which dropped at least two ratings include Whorlton Hall — the County Durham hospital closed following a BBC Panorama report in May showing residents being mistreated — which the CQC rated as “good” in December 2017 before revising this to “inadequate” in May. The BBC investigation prompted the CQC to investigate all similar mental health hospitals run by Cygnet, which took over the running of Whorlton Hall in January 2019. Cygnet Newbus Grange in Darlington — which was rated “outstanding” in a report published in February 2019 – was judged “inadequate” by September, while Cygnet Acer Clinic in Chesterfield fell from “good” in November 2018 to “inadequate’ in a report published 12 months later. The other three hospitals were the Breightmet Centre for Autism in Bolton, Kneesworth House in Hertfordshire and The Woodhouse Independent Hospital in Staffordshire. It comes as the CQC prepares to publish independent reports on its role in relation to the Whorlton Hall scandal. NHS England — one of the commissioners, along with local authorities and clinical commissioning groups, of learning disability inpatient care — also last month initiated a “taskforce” on the issue. The CQC has acknowledged it needed to “strengthen” its assessments of this type of care and said it had begun to do so, and was reviewing them further “from a human rights perspective”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 2 December 2019 -
Content Article
Maternity Action - Dignity in pregnancy
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Maternity
This video by the organisation Maternity Action looks at the impact of UK Border Agency policies on pregnant women seeking asylum. The video highlights the unique challenges faced by women in this situation, including the risk of sudden deportation, lack of rights and mental health issues associated with trauma and lack of perinatal support. Two women share their stories of being pregnant and having young babies while in the asylum system. -
Content ArticleOn 11 June 2019 an investigation into the death of Brooke Martin aged 19 started. Brooke was a patient at Isla House, Chadwick Lodge, Milton Keynes and was detained under the Mental Health Act. She had been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brooke was found hanging in her room and was taken to Milton Keynes University Hospital where she died on 11 June 2019.
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Content ArticleThis report represents the views of organisations and experts who responded to the Department of Health & Social Care's call for evidence on its Women's Health Strategy. The call for evidence was released in March 2021. This report focuses on submissions received from 436 organisations and individuals with expertise in women’s health, including the charity sector (34%), academia (22%), industry (10%), clinicians (7%), professional bodies (7%), pressure groups (7%), NHS organisations (3%), parliamentary groups (2%), royal colleges (1%), local government (1%), think tanks (1%) and others (6%).
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Content ArticleYoung people with type 1 diabetes experience higher rates of psychological distress, periods of burnout and feelings of being unable to cope with the daily burden of living with diabetes, than those who are diagnosed as adults. This article in The BMJ considers approaches to reduce anxiety and stress in young people with diabetes including: family, peer, and psychological support and education on living with diabetes. psychological screening assessment tools at diagnosis and annually. ensuring there are adequate local mental health support pathways. psychological and behavioural interventions, such as solution focused therapy, coping skills training, motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy.
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Content ArticleIn patient experience research, participants frequently report the impact that mesothelioma has on their mental health yet there have been very few studies specifically focused on mental health and mesothelioma. In patient experience research, participants frequently report the impact that mesothelioma has on their mental health yet there have been very few studies specifically focused on mental health and mesothelioma. This new study from the Mesothelioma UK research centre aims to create an understanding of the impact of mesothelioma on the mental health of patients, their families and close friends, and what people do to improve their mental health and well-being.
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Content ArticleEpistemic injustice occurs when a person is not given authority and credibility as a 'knower' in a conversation, due to negative stereotypes associated with their identity. These stereotypes might relate to their age, gender, ethnicity, social class, education, sexual orientation or health. Young people with unusual experiences and beliefs are particularly at risk of experiencing epistemic injustice, and this can have a negative impact on their health outcomes. In this blog Joe Houlders, Matthew Broome and Lisa Bortolotti from the University of Birmingham talk about the risks of young people with unusual experiences and beliefs experiencing epistemic injustice in clinical encounters. This is the first in a series of blogs reporting outcomes from a project on Agency in Youth Mental Health, led by Rose McCabe at City University.
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Content ArticleThe Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a call for evidence in March 2021 to inform the first-ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy for England. This report focuses on the survey component of the consultation. Nearly 100,000 people in England got in touch to share: their personal views and experiences as a woman the experiences of a female family member, friend or partner their reflections as a self-identified health or care professional. The results highlight priority areas for action and further research and underpin DHSC’s vision statement for England’s Women’s Health Strategy (published in December 2021). The full strategy will be published in spring 2022.
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Content ArticleThis study in the British Journal of General Practice aimed to examine trends in prescribing for anxiety in UK primary care between 2003 and 2018. Anxiolytic drugs are a group of medications used to relieve anxiety. The authors analysed data from 2.5 million adults to determine prevalence, incidence rates and treatment duration for prescriptions of any anxiolytic, and also for each drug class. The authors found that, between 2003 and 2018: prevalence of any anxiolytic prescription increased, driven by increases in those starting treatment, rather than more long-term use. incident beta-blocker prescribing increased over the 16 years, whereas incident benzodiazepine prescriptions decreased. long-term prescribing of benzodiazepines declined, yet 44% of prescriptions in 2017 were longer than the recommended four weeks. incident prescriptions in each drug class have risen substantially in young adults in recent years. They conclude that increases in incident prescribing may reflect better detection of anxiety or increasing acceptability of medication. However, they also caution that prescribing approaches may cause unintended harm, as some prescribing is not based on robust evidence of effectiveness and may contradict guidelines. They highlight that there is limited evidence on the overall impact of taking antidepressants long term.
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Content ArticleThis Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) investigation explores the care of patients who present to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) with questions about their gender identity and are referred to specialised gender dysphoria services. Gender dysphoria is a sense of unease, distress or discomfort that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. For example, a child who is registered as male at birth might feel or say that they are a girl, or feel that neither ‘boy’ nor ‘girl’ are the right word to describe how they feel about themselves. Gender dysphoria is not identified as a mental illness by the NHS, but some people may develop mental health problems because of gender dysphoria.
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Content ArticleIn this blog for NHS Confederation, Kadra Abdinasir talks about how mental health services have failed to engage with young black men, and describes how services need to change to overcome the issue. She argues that delivering effective mental health support for young black men requires a move away from a crisis-driven response, to investment in system-driven, community-based projects. Kadra looks at learning from Shifting the Dial, a three-year programme recently piloted in Birmingham as a response to the growing and unmet needs of young black men aged 16 to 25. A recent report on the project found that most young men involved in Shifting the Dial reported good outcomes related to their wellbeing, confidence, sense of belonging and understanding of mental health.
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