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Showing results for tags 'Mental health'.
Found 1,161 results
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Content ArticleThis opinion piece in the Journal of Eating Disorders looks at the use of the diagnosis 'terminal anorexia' and its impact on people with anorexia nervosa, their families and the healthcare professionals working with them. Alykhan Asaria offers a lived-experience perspective on how the term may cause distress and harm to patients, feeding the narrative power of an individual's eating disorder. The article also talks about how the term can remove hope from patients, families and clinicians, and how it might set a dangerous precedent in paving the way for people with other mental health conditions to be labelled 'terminal'.
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Content ArticleAn evidence review into the scale of the prescribed drug dependence and withdrawal problem in England published by Public Health England (PHE) in 2019 called for support for patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms, including a national 24 hour helpline and associated website. These calls have since been echoed in a recent BBC Panorama episode and other media accounts, but despite the evidence reviews, media interest and public awareness, nothing has changed. This open letter to the Government published in the BMJ calls for specialist NHS services to support patients harmed by taking prescription medications. Signed by healthcare professionals, it highlights that there are still almost no NHS services to support patients who have been harmed by taking medicines as prescribed by their doctor, such as antidepressants and benzodiazepines. The signatories believe that the NHS has a clinical and moral obligation to help those who have been harmed by taking their medication as prescribed, and are urgently calling upon the UK Government to fund and implement withdrawal support services.
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Content ArticleOn the 23 January 2023 the Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, Maria Caulfield MP, announced the commencement of a rapid review into patient safety in mental health inpatient settings in England. The review Chair, Dr Geraldine Strathdee, was asked to consider how improvements could be made to the way that data and information is used in relation to patient safety in mental health inpatient care settings and pathways, including for people with a learning disability and autistic people. This report contains the findings of this review and an associated set of recommendations.
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Content ArticleThis report examines the reporting of patient deaths at the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust (NSFT) between April 2019 and October 2022. It was undertaken by Grant Thornton on behalf of the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex and NHS Norfolk and Waveney integrated care boards at NSFT’s request.
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Content ArticlePsychosocial support programs are a way for hospitals to support the mental health of their staff. However, while support is needed, utilization of support by hospital staff remains low. This study from van de Baan et al. aims to identify reasons for non-use and elements that are important to consider when offering psychosocial support.
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Content ArticleThe MindEd all-age eating disorders hub is aimed at all professionals, from universal to specialist. It contains key trusted evidence-based learning, curated and approved by an expert panel. The hub contains the following information:NHS policy guidanceProfessional bodies' guidanceProfessional associations' reportsCharitiesNHS learning and good practiceLegislation and reportsKey and influential textsUnder-served populations
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Content ArticleAn infographic shared on LinkedIn by Kenny Gibson, Deputy Director for NHS Safeguarding, on spotting the red flag in colleagues.
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Content ArticleWith increasing concerns around the working conditions and psychological wellbeing of staff in the NHS, questions have been raised about how best to support staff wellbeing. Research is clear that wellbeing interventions that target the organisation and staff’s working environment work better than those which focus solely on supporting the individual person. Although it might seem simple to say: “we need to improve working conditions”, the challenge is whether this is possible and, if so, what this actually looks like in practice.
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Content ArticleDespite steps towards closing the gap between mental and physical health services, many people still cannot access services and face long waits for treatment. Addressing workforce challenges in mental health services will be crucial to improving this situation. This report, commissioned and supported by NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, takes stock of progress across the country in staffing the single largest profession within the mental health workforce: nurses.
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Content ArticleThis WHO report includes six case studies from 12 individuals with lived experience of diverse health conditions. These case studies explore the topics of power dynamics and power reorientation towards individuals with lived experience; informed decision-making and health literacy; community engagement across broader health networks and health systems; lived experience as evidence and expertise; exclusion and the importance of involving groups that are marginalized; and advocacy and human rights. It is the first publication in the WHO Intention to action series, which aims to enhance the limited evidence base on the impact of meaningful engagement and address the lack of standardized approaches on how to operationalise meaningful engagement. The Intention to action series aims to do this by providing a platform from which individuals with lived experience, and organisational and institutional champions, can share solutions, challenges and promising practices related to this cross-cutting agenda.
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Content ArticlePaediatric wards in acute hospitals are increasingly caring for children and young people (CYP) who have mental health needs. Paediatric wards are primarily designed to accommodate children with physical health needs and are not specifically designed to help keep children and young people with mental health needs safe. This national investigation looks at the risk factors associated with the design of paediatric wards in acute hospitals for children and young people with mental health needs.
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Content ArticleThe Department of Health and Social Care is seeking views and ideas on how to prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the six major groups of health conditions that most affect the population in England. These are: cancers cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes chronic respiratory diseases dementia mental ill health musculoskeletal disorders The views and ideas gathered will inform the priorities and actions in the major conditions strategy. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 27 June 2023.
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Content ArticleInstitutional racism within the United Kingdom's (UK) Higher Education (HE) sector, particularly nurse and midwifery education, has lacked empirical research, critical scrutiny, and serious discussion. This paper focuses on the racialised experiences of nurses and midwives during their education in UK universities, including their practice placements. It explores the emotional, physical, and psychological impacts of these experiences. The study concludes that the endemic culture of racism in nurse and midwifery education is a fundamental factor that must be recognised and called out. The study argues that universities and health care trusts need to be accountable for preparing all students to challenge racism and provide equitable learning opportunities that cover the objectives to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements to avoid significant experiences of exclusion and intimidation.
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News ArticleHealth officials have “paid lip service” to racism in the NHS for years, leading black, Asian and minority ethnic doctors have warned as they called for “concrete” action to tackle inequalities exposed by a landmark review. The damning study – the largest of its kind – had found “vast” and “widespread” inequity in every aspect of healthcare it reviewed, and warned that this was harming the health of minority ethnic patients in England. In response, an NHS spokesperson said the health service was “already taking action” to improve the experiences of patients and access to services and was working “to drive forward” the recommendations made in the report. However, Dr JS Bamrah, a consultant psychiatrist in Greater Manchester and national chairman of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, said he was unsatisfied with the response. “This 166-page review … is a terrible indictment of the current state of the NHS,” he told the Guardian. “As many of us have often said and reported, we don’t need any further reports. It’s action we need, as there are scores of patients who are not getting optimal treatment, and many are being neglected. “It really isn’t good enough for NHS bosses to say that action is being taken and it’s even more disappointing to then not see any concrete proposals on dealing with glaring disparities despite all that we have learnt during the pandemic.” Dr Rajesh Mohan, presidential lead for race and equality at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said it was “time for warm words to end” as he urged NHS leaders to “do everything they can to ensure patients from ethnic minority backgrounds get the care they need”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 February 2022
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News Article
Post-natal depression in men: 'The darkest time of my life'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
About 1 in 10 fathers will experience a depressive episode within the first year after a baby is born but no Scottish health board has any specific measures to monitor their mental health, BBC Scotland has learned. Peter Divers, 39, says he hid his feelings of depression for months after his second child was born in November 2016. "It was the darkest time of my life," he says. "I woke up every morning with a knot in my stomach. I felt like there was a big dark cloud following me about." Peter didn't tell anyone what he was experiencing, including his wife, for five months. He did not feel comfortable going to see his GP. His feelings came to a head one day when he arrived to pick his older daughter up from his mother's house, and started crying on her couch. Dr Selena Gleadow-Ware, a consultant psychiatrist who chairs the perinatal faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said research showed about 8-10% of men experience depression in the postnatal period. "Men may be much less likely to talk about or feel comfortable sharing how they're feeling, so it often goes as an under-recognised or hidden problem," she says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 February 2022 -
News Article
Muckamore Abbey Hospital abuse inquiry to begin
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An inquiry into allegations of abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital officially begins on Monday. The Co Antrim facility treats patients with severe learning difficulties and mental health problems. Allegations of abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital - which is run by the Belfast Trust and located on the outskirts of Antrim - first came to light in 2017. Police said they reviewed thousands of hours of CCTV footage as part of a major investigation. At present seven people are to be prosecuted and more than 20 have been arrested for a range of offences, including alleged ill-treatment and wilful neglect. The core objectives of the inquiry are "to examine the issue of abuse of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital (MAH), to determine why the abuse happened and the range of circumstances that allowed it to happen and ensure that such abuse does not occur again at MAH or any other institution providing similar services in Northern Ireland". Read full story Source: Belfast Telegraph, 11 October 2021 -
News Article
Only a third of children in need accessed mental health support in the pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of children experiencing mental health problems has risen sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic, but fewer have been able to access support because of disruptions to services, says a report by the Children’s Commissioner for England. Around one in nine children had a probable mental health disorder in 2017, the report says, but this jumped to one in six in 2021 with only around a third (32%) able to access treatment. While the number of children referred to mental health services by GPs and teachers has been growing in recent years, referral rates fell back in 2020-21 to 497 502 (equivalent to 4% of all children in England), compared with 539 000 (4.5% of children) the previous year. “It is likely that even though more children have mental health problems, fewer were being referred to services during lockdowns because of disruptions caused by the pandemic,” said children’s commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza. “Numbers referred into services are likely to increase again in the coming years. The health secretary will be publishing a review later this year to explore how we can tackle this increased level of need and adopt a more preventive approach.” Lynn Perry, interim co-chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said, “Covid-19 has taken a serious toll on children’s mental health and schools are the first place many of them seek help. Being able to reach this support early at school will reduce the number of children who need specialist help from mental health services. This is why Barnardo’s is calling on the government to speed up the rollout of mental health support teams to help pupils and teachers get the support they need, when they need it.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 7 February 2022 -
News Article
More than half of NHS paramedics suffering from burnout
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over half of paramedics are suffering from burnout caused by “overwhelming” workloads, record numbers of 999 calls and the public misusing the ambulance service, a study has found. Frontline crew members also blame lack of meal breaks, delays in reaching seriously ill patients and their shift often not ending when it should for their high levels of stress and anxiety. The working lives of ambulance staff are so difficult that nine out of 10 display symptoms of “depersonalisation”, characterised by “cynicism, detachment and reduced levels of empathy” when dealing with patients who need urgent medical treatment. The widespread poor mental welfare of paramedics is a problem for the NHS because it is leading to some quitting, thus exacerbating its shortage of ambulance personnel, the authors said. The findings, published in the Journal of Paramedic Practice, have prompted concern that the demands on crews, alongside the injury, violence and death they encounter, are storing up serious mental health problems for them, including post-traumatic stress disorder. “Ambulance staff are passionate about their role. However, burnout is a significant and very real issue that decreases staff efficacy and reduces quality of patient care,” the study said. It was undertaken by Rachel Beldon, who works for the Yorkshire ambulance service, and Joanne Garside, a professor and school strategic director of Huddersfield university’s health and wellbeing academy. “Participants wanted better resources and staffing levels. The current workload appeared to be overwhelming and negatively affected their mental health and work-life balance.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 February 2022 -
News Article
Trust apologises for saying patient’s sexual assault ‘didn’t happen’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A hospital trust has apologised to a mental health patient who reported being sexually assaulted in its A&E department – after it emerged in a safety review that staff wrote ‘this has not happened’ and dismissed her claims of the attack. The victim was admitted to West Suffolk Hospital’s emergency department following an overdose in January last year. While waiting in A&E for a mental health assessment from a specialist team employed by Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust, she reported being sexually assaulted by a male patient who had also been admitted to A&E. Yet a review into the incident, published several months later and shared with HSJ, reveals that after the victim reported the attack to a nurse, the staff member recorded “this has not happened”. They stated that the male suspect in the cubicle next to her had not left his bed and was under constant observation. However, the patient safety review, drawn up after a serious incident probe was launched, adds that this statement was “incorrect, as the [male] patient was not under constant observation”. “There were witnesses to this incident, and CCTV, and yet it was not escalated until I contacted the trust myself to complain,” the victim said. She added that she pursued the complaint, which resulted in a serious incident probe that took several months to conclude, “to prevent others from being failed” in the same way. She said she was left “shocked, confused and furious” to discover staff had dismissed her assault and claimed the male suspect had not been admitted for an assessment on the day of the attack. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 February 2022 -
News ArticleChildren with mental health problems are dying because of failings in NHS treatment, coroners across England have said in what psychiatrists and campaigners have called “deeply concerning” findings. In the last five years coroners have issued reports to prevent future deaths in at least 14 cases in which under-18s have died while being treated by children’s and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The most common issues that arise are delays in treatment and a lack of support in helping patients transition to adult services when they turn 18. Coroners issue reports to prevent future deaths in extreme cases when it is decided that if changes are not made then another person could die. Dr Elaine Lockhart, the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ faculty of child and adolescent psychiatry, said the findings were “deeply concerning” and every death was a tragedy. She said there were too often lengthy delays and services were under strain as demand rises and the NHS faces workforce shortages. “In child and adolescent mental health services in England, 15% of consultant psychiatrist posts are vacant,” Lockhart said, calling for more support, investment and planning to grow staff levels. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2022
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News Article
Survey of Americans who attempted suicide finds many aren’t getting care
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of people who try suicide has risen steadily in the U.S. But despite gains in health coverage, nearly half are not getting mental health treatment. Suicide attempts in the United States showed a “substantial and alarming increase” over the last decade, but one number remained the same, a new study has found: Year in and year out, about 40% of people who had recently tried suicide said they were not receiving mental health services. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, traces a rise in the incidence of suicide attempts, defined as “self-reported attempts to kill one’s self in the last 12 months,” from 2008 to 2019. During that period, the incidence rose to 564 in every 100,000 adults from 481. The researchers drew on data from 484,732 responses to the federal government’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which includes people who lack insurance and have little contact with the health care system. They found the largest increase in suicide attempts among women; young adults between 18 and 25; unmarried people; people with less education; and people who regularly use substances like alcohol or cannabis. Only one group, adults 50 to 64 years old, saw a significant decrease in suicide attempts during that time. Among the major findings was that there was no significant change in the use of mental health services by people who had tried suicide, despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and receding stigma around mental health care. Over the 11-year period, a steady rate of about 40%t of people who tried suicide in the previous year said they were not receiving mental health care, said Greg Rhee, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study. The Affordable Care Act, which took effect fully in 2014, required all health plans to cover mental health and substance abuse services, and also sharply reduced the number of uninsured people in the U.S. However, many respondents to the survey in the new report said the cost of mental health care was prohibitive; others said they were uncertain where to go for treatment or had no transportation. “It is a huge public health problem,” Dr. Rhee said. “We know that mental health care in the U.S. is really fragmented and complicated, and we also know not everybody has equal access to mental health care. So, it’s somewhat not surprising.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: New York Times,19 January 2022 -
News Article
HSIB launches investigation into community mental health care
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has launched an investigation into community mental health care following the death of a 56-year-old woman. HSIB has begun examining how patients in crisis with severe mental health needs are assessed by NHS services. The investigation came after warnings from multiple coroners over the poor assessment of suicide risk in people in mental health crisis in the last year and followed the death of Frances Wellburn, who took her own life in August 2020 while under the care of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation NHS Trust (TEWV). Wellburn had long-term mental health problems but suffered a crisis and was admitted to hospital in September 2019. Following discharge, she was not referred to a specialist NHS service for people experiencing psychosis because clinicians incorrectly believed she was too old for the service, according to a TEWV investigation report seen by The Independent. Despite being assessed as a “medium risk”, Wellburn was not contacted by mental health teams for three months. In June 2020, she was admitted to an inpatient unit for three weeks, but her health deteriorated, and she later took her own life. Separately, coroner warnings in three prevention of future deaths reports published last year found mental health staff failing to risk assess people who later took their own lives. HSIB’s investigation will look into how patients’ risk is assessed when receiving care in the community and how services interact with families and other health services. It will also examine how mental health services consider menopause when assessing women’s mental health and referrals to early intervention psychosis services. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 January 2022 -
News Article
NHS trust failings may have contributed to Bristol student’s death, inquest finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A string of failings may have contributed to the death of a “deeply vulnerable” law student who killed herself while being treated in a psychiatric hospital in Bristol, an inquest jury has said. Zoë Wilson, 22, had informed staff she was hearing voices in her head telling her to kill herself and 30 minutes before she died was seen by a nurse through an observation hatch looking frightened and behaving oddly but nobody went into her room to check her. Speaking after the jury’s conclusions, Wilson’s family said that Avon and Wiltshire mental health partnership NHS trust (AWP) should face criminal charges over the case. AWP said it accepted it had fallen short in its care of Wilson. Zoë on the 17 June 2019 she told staff she was hearing voices telling her to kill herself and handed over an item that she could have used to harm herself with. She was not moved to an acute ward and other items that she could have used were not removed. At 1am on 19 June she was observed standing beside her bathroom door looking frightened but staff did not go to her. Thirty minutes later she was checked again and had harmed herself. Emergency services were called but she was pronounced dead. Giving evidence to Avon coroner’s court, the nurse who saw Wilson at 1am said he had only worked in the unit a handful of times and had not met Wilson before that night. The jury concluded that steps taken to keep her safe that night had been inadequate and also criticised communication and information sharing. In a statement, her family, said: “Zoë was a wonderful, bright, and deeply vulnerable young woman. She was on a low-risk ward even when she told staff that voices in her head were telling her to kill herself.” They called for AWP to face a criminal prosecution by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). “We will continue to fight for justice in her name,” they said. “She will never be forgotten.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 January 2022 -
News ArticleA vulnerable woman judged to be at medium risk of self harm was on a mental-health ward that catered for low-risk patients, an inquest heard. Zoe Wilson, 22, died on the Larch Ward at Bristol's Callington Road Hospital in June 2019 after being found unconscious in her room at 01.30 BST. She had previously told staff that voices were telling her to kill herself, her inquest heard. Healthcare assistant Sarah Sharma found her and immediately called for help. Addressing a jury inquest at Avon Coroners' Court, she said that "patients admitted to Larch should have all been low risk". This meant they would "preferably" have hourly observations by staff and be able to take their medication without any issues. Many were ready to be discharged and they were there because something was holding them up, normally housing, she said. The experienced healthcare assistant said if the patient's risk increased they should be placed under "one to one" monitoring with a member of staff until they were moved to a more suitable unit. The inquest heard earlier that Ms Wilson had been judged to be medium risk and was placed on 30-minute observations on 18 June. Her risk level was re-assessed when she handed a belt to staff and informed them voices were telling her to kill herself. Ms Sharma told the court that she was on her first overnight shift in two and a half weeks that night, and was informed in a handover that Ms Wilson was at risk of self-harming. Having never met Ms Wilson - who had schizophrenia - she queried what kind of self-harm the patient was at risk of but said the nurse performing the handover told her he "didn't know". Ms Sharma told the inquest she was unaware of the belt incident or that Ms Wilson had not been sleeping well and had requested medication to calm her down. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 January 2022
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News Article“Unacceptable” failures by a mental health hospital to manage the physical healthcare of a woman detained under the mental health act contributed to her starving to death, The Independent has learned. A second inquest into the death of a 45-year-old woman, Jennifer Lewis, has found that the mental health hospital to which she was admitted “failed to manage her declining physical health” as she suffered from the effects of malnutrition. Ms Lewis had a long-term diagnosis of schizophrenia. Her family described how she had lived a full life, completed a degree, and given lectures about living with mental illness. However, after undergoing bariatric surgery, against the wishes of her family, her mental state declined and she was admitted to the Bracton Centre, run by Oxleas, in 2014. In an interview with The independent, her sister, Angela, described how, in the year before her death, Ms Lewis lost her hair, suffered from diarrhoea, and developed sores on her legs as she effectively “starved to death” from malnutrition. Ms Lewis’s sister told The Independent that in the year leading up to her death, when the family warned doctors she was “starving to death”, their concerns were dismissed and they were told that the hospital “will not let it come to that”. Mental health charity Rethink has called for improvements to physical healthcare for patients with severe mental illness, whose physical needs they say are “all too often ignored”, while experts at think tank the Centre for Mental Health have warned that patients with mental illness are dying too young as the system “still separates mental and physical health”. Read full story Source: The Independent, January 2022
