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Showing results for tags 'Mental health'.
Found 1,165 results
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Content ArticleDavid Oliver is a consultant in geriatrics and acute general medicine who has worked in the NHS for 33 years. In this blog, he talks about his personal experience of running covid 'hot' wards during the different waves of the pandemic, describing the toll working in these conditions has taken on the health of him and many of his colleagues. He highlights the impact of looking after dying patients without adequate PPE, informing family members of patients' death over the phone, being responsible for many more patients than usual and witnessing colleagues die from Covid-19. The result has been burnout, mental health issues and low morale for a workforce that was already stretched before the pandemic hit the UK. David finally caught Covid-19 himself in March 2022 and he talks about how the virus—plus the cumulative effect of working under such strain for over two years—has meant he is not able to work and has been signed-off sick since mid-May.
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Content Article
Psychological safety Padlet board
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Culture
Psychological safety refers to creating and maintaining an environment in which members of a team feel able to speak up without fear of negative consequences. It allows healthcare professionals to take the interpersonal risks needed to engage in effective teamwork and to maintain patient safety. This Padlet board set up by Becky Thomas is a place to post resources and articles related to promoting psychological safety. -
Content ArticleMoral injury is a specific kind of trauma that can happen when when people face situations that deeply violate their conscience or threaten their core values. This blog for Scientific American looks at the experience of ER doctor Torree McGowan when the Delta wave of Covid-19 hit the central Oregon region where she works. It examines the impact that moral injury has had on her mental health and her relationship with patients. The author looks at how Covid-19 hugely increased the incidence of moral injury as people in frontline roles faced ethically wrenching dilemmas every day. The growing realisation that moral injury is a separate diagnosis to other conditions such as PTSD and depression is resulting in a wider range of treatments and trauma therapies. Many of these treatments encourage people to face moral conflicts head-on rather than blotting them out or explaining them away, and they emphasize the importance of community support in long-term recovery.
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Content ArticleThis report by NHS Wales summarises the ways in which the cost of living crisis can impact on health and well-being. It takes a public health lens to identify actions for policy makers and decision-makers to protect and promote the health and well-being of people in Wales in their response to the cost of living crisis, outlining what a public health approach to the crisis could look like in the short and longer-term.
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Content ArticleThe Health Survey (Northern Ireland) has run annually, on a continuous basis, since 2010/11. The 2021/22 survey included questions relating to general health, mental health and wellbeing, smoking and drinking alcohol. The sample size for the survey was 3,154 individuals aged 16 and over. This article presents the key findings of the Health Survey (Northern Ireland): First Results 2021/22 report. One important finding was that of respondents who had been in contact with the health and social care system in the last year, 73% were either very satisfied or satisfied with their experience (down from 85% in 2020/21), while almost a fifth (18%) were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied (double that in 2020/21 – 9%).
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Content ArticleSouth Wales pharmacist, Geraint Jones, contracted COVID-19 in April 2020. He shares an insight to his experiences over the last year after he was later diagnosed with Long Covid.
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Content ArticleThis BMJ Practice Pointer discusses how we can support our colleagues with their mental health.
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Content ArticleWomen are four times as likely to die after childbirth in Britain as in Scandinavian countries, a study published in the BMJ from Diguisto et al. has found. The authors compared maternal mortality in eight countries (France, Italy, UK, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Slovakia) with enhanced surveillance systems. They found that UK had the second-highest death rate, with one in 10,000 mothers dying within six weeks of giving birth, only slightly less than in Slovakia, the worst performing. Norway has the lowest maternal death rates in Europe, at one in 37,000. In Denmark, the second-best performing country, one in 29,000 died. In-depth analyses of differences in the quality of care and health system performance at national levels are needed to reduce maternal mortality further by learning from best practices and each other. Cardiovascular diseases and mental health in women during and after pregnancy must be prioritised in all countries.
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Content ArticleIt is time to end all forms of stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions, for whom there is a double jeopardy: the impact of the primary condition itself and the severe consequences of stigma. Many people describe stigma as ‘worse than the condition itself’. This Lancet Commission report is the result of a collaboration of more than 50 people globally. It brings together evidence and experience on the impact of stigma and discrimination and successful interventions for stigma reduction. The report is co-produced by people who have lived experience of mental health conditions and includes material to bring alive the voices of people with lived experience. The voices whisper or speak or shout in the poems, testimonies and the quotations that are featured.
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Content ArticleThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) defines psychosocial assessment following self-harm as ‘a comprehensive assessment including an evaluation of the person’s needs, safety considerations and vulnerabilities that is designed to identify those personal psychological and environmental (social) factors that might explain an act of self-harm’. NICE advises that all people who self-harm should be offered a psychosocial assessment at an early stage. Psychosocial assessment should include biological factors alongside psychological and socio-environmental aspects and is often termed ‘biopsychosocial assessment’. The aim of this document from the Centre for Suicide Research is to provide clinicians with guidance to help them conduct a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. To support this, associated signposting to supporting evidence and useful reading is included.
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Content ArticleThe MBRRACE-UK collaboration, led from Oxford Population Health's National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU), has published the results of their latest UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity. These annual rigorous reports are recognised as a gold standard in identifying key improvements needed for maternity services. The latest Saving Lives, Improving Mothers' Care analysis examines in detail the care of all women who died during, or up to one year after, pregnancy between 2018 and 2020 in the UK. This is the first report to include data that demonstrates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal deaths.
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Content ArticleThis survey by In-FACT (Independent Fetal Anti Convulsant Trust) is intended to provide patients, no matter what anti-epileptic drug (AED) they are prescribed or what condition the AED is prescribed for, the opportunity to report problems and worries about taking their medication during pregnancy. The results will be used to inform In-FACT's ongoing work to improve medication safety and their engagement with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
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Content ArticleThis National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline covers the components of a good experience of service use. It aims to make sure that all adults using NHS mental health services have the best possible experience of care. It includes recommendations on: access to care assessment community care assessment and referral in crisis hospital care discharge and transfer of care assessment and treatment under the Mental Health Act
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Content ArticleIn this Guardian article, parents reveal their heart-wrenching struggles to access NHS services, which have sometimes been too late to help their children.
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Content ArticleThis article in the BMJ highlights a number of recent articles that reflect on the realities facing the health service after the first brutal years of the Covid-19 pandemic. It summarises and links to articles in the BMJ about the elective care backlog, A&E waiting times, remote appointments, Government pressures that stop senior clinicians speaking out about pressures, and the need for credible policy solutions. It also highlights an article outlining how Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol have resulted in the UK being denied access to European research funding and meetings.
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RCPath - Medical examiners good practice series
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Processes
This Good Practice Series published by The Royal College of Pathologists is a topical collection of focused summary documents, designed to be easily read and digested by busy front-line staff. The documents contain links to further reading, guidance and support, and cover the following topics: Supporting people of Black, Asian and minority ethnic heritage Urgent release of a body Learning disability and autism Organ and tissue donation Post-mortem examinations Child deaths Mental health and eating disorders Out-of-hours arrangements -
Content Article
The Surviving in Scrubs campaign, created by Dr Becky Cox and Dr Chelcie Jewitt, gives a voice to women in healthcare to raise awareness and end sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault in healthcare. In this blog for the hub, co-founder Dr Chelcie Jewitt tells us more about the campaign. -
Content ArticleIn this debate the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Maria Caulfield MP, responds to an Urgent Question asking for a statement on abuse and deaths in secure mental health units. The Minister discusses the recent findings from investigations into the deaths of Christie Harnett, Nadia Sharif and Emily Moore who were in the care of the Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, reflecting on these in the context of broader concerns highlighted by other recent patient safety scandals concerning NHS mental health services. This is followed by questions from MPs in the chamber and the Minister’s responses.
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Content ArticleThese reports outline the findings of separate investigations into the deaths of three teenage girls who were detained mental health patients in the care of Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). The reports uncover many systemic failings at West Lane Hospital in Middlesbrough, the secure mental health unit for children where Christie Harnett and Nadia Sharif, both 17 years old, died and where Emily Moore, 18, was placed prior to her death in Lanchester Road Hospital, Durham. The girls had been friends and spent time together at West Lane, and all three deaths were self-inflicted. The reports highlight a total of 119 care and service delivery problems at West Lane including ineffective management, reduced staffing, lack of leadership, aggressive handling of disciplinary problems, issues with succession of crisis management and failures to respond to concerns from patients and staff. Although West Lane was closed in 2019, it was reopened in May 2021 under the new name of Acklam Road Hospital. Subsequent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections and further deaths demonstrate that dangerous cultures and practices are still operating in the Trust's inpatient mental health units. In June, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced that they will be bringing criminal charges against TEWV in relation to Christie’s death. This document contains three separate investigation reports relating to Christie Harnett, Nadia Sharif and Emily Moore's individual cases.
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Content ArticleThis guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care is for NHS hospitals and independent hospitals (providing NHS-funded care) in England, and police forces in England and Wales. It outlines how to comply with the requirements of the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018.
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Content ArticleRestrictive practices are things that limit the rights of a person, like being able to move around freely. Restrictive Practice is used to stop a person from doing behaviours of concern. These Specialised Services Quality Dashboards (SSQD) are designed to provide assurance on the quality of care by collecting information about outcomes from healthcare providers. SSQDs are a key tool in monitoring the quality of services, enabling comparison between service providers and supporting improvements over time in the outcomes of services commissioned by NHS England.
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Content ArticleThis short and informative guide, produced by the Quality Care Commission, is for services who may be dealing with challenging behaviour. It includes definitions of the different types of restrictive interventions and directs providers to the evidence they need to provide in order to reassure the regulator that such practice is well governed and safe.
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Content Article'State of Care' is the Care Quality Commission's annual assessment of health care and social care in England. The report looks at the trends, shares examples of good and outstanding care, and highlights where care needs to improve.
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SAPHNA - Eating disorder toolkit (October 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Eating disorders
This toolkit has been co-produced by the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) with school nursing services, mental health campaigners, eating disorder experts, education colleagues and young people with lived-experience of eating disorders. It is aimed at qualified, trained and skilled nurses who have access to robust supervision. The toolkit is free of charge, but you will need to enter your details in order to receive a PDF copy by email. -
Content ArticleThe workforce is healthcare’s most precious resource. Hospitals and health systems are committed to supporting mental well-being and improving access to behavioural health screenings, referrals and treatment when the workforce needs it. This new American Hosptial Association guide, Suicide Prevention: Evidence-Informed Interventions for the Health Care Workforce, identifies three drivers of suicide: stigma, limited access to behavioural health resources and treatment, and job-related stressors. The guide offers a curated list of 12 evidence-informed interventions that hospitals and health systems can implement to reduce the risk of suicide among healthcare workers. Hospitals and health systems should choose the interventions and metrics that work for their organisation based on their own needs and available resources to customise a pathway to suicide prevention for their employees.
