Friday 13 January 2017

The other one in four – how financial difficulty is neglected in mental health services

The other one in four – how financial difficulty is neglected in mental health services This report assesses the extent to which mental health services systematically recognise and respond to this relationship between financial difficulty and mental health problems. They explore where there are gaps in existing provision and where better coordination could improve services for people with mental health problems who are experiencing financial difficulty. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

Immigration Removal Centres need to focus on detainees' mental health and wellbeing, says new report

Immigration Removal Centres need to focus on detainees' mental health and wellbeing, says new report People detained in Immigration Removal Centres in England face challenges to their mental health and need support for their wellbeing, according to a report published today by Centre for Mental Health.

Immigration Removal Centres in England: A mental health needs analysis was commissioned by NHS England. The Centre conducted interviews with staff and detainees and observations at ten IRCs which between them held 30,000 people in the year to March 2016.

The report finds that all immigration detainees experience significant distress and many had faced trauma prior to being detained. It finds that being in immigration detention adds to people’s distress and that mental health support varies from one centre to another. Centre for Mental Health

Fundamental Facts about mental health 2016

Fundamental Facts about mental health 2016 A comprehensive summary of mental health research, providing a unique handbook of key facts and figures, covering all key areas of mental health. Mental Health Foundation

Locums 'weak link' in doctors' performance checks

Locums 'weak link' in doctors' performance checks There are weaknesses in the way the performance of locum doctors is checked in the UK, a review suggests.

Doctors have had to take part in five-yearly "MOTs" since 2012 to ensure they are fit to continue working.

The General Medical Council said the system was working well, but highlighted problems with the way it was being applied to locums.

The review by the regulator found hospitals were "unwilling to provide frank feedback" on locums.

Sometimes hospitals just told agencies "please don't send this doctor again" rather than giving full reasons. BBC News

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Former head of doctors’ regulator to lead NHS Confederation

Former head of doctors’ regulator to lead NHS Confederation Niall Dickson to lead NHS organisations’ representative body. OnMedica

No new antidepressants likely in next decade, say scientists

No new antidepressants likely in next decade, say scientists NHS and healthcare providers don’t want to foot the bill for expensive drugs so pharmaceuticals unwilling to invest in research

No new drugs for depression are likely in the next decade, even though those like Prozac work for little more than half of those treated and there have been concerns over their side effects, say scientists.

Leading psychiatrists, some of whom have been involved in drug development, say criticism of the antidepressants of the Prozac class, called the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), is partly responsible for the pharmaceutical industry’s reluctance to invest in new drugs – even though demand is steadily rising. Continue reading... The Guardian

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The NHS dental service is broken – and its rotten payment system is to blame

The NHS dental service is broken – and its rotten payment system is to blame A rise in hospital tooth extractions for children in England and Wales is alarming. But this is just one symptom of the growing crisis in NHS dentistry

Almost as soon as I stepped into dental school in the mid-1980s, an enthusiastic and wild-eyed child dental health lecturer thrust a Venn diagram in my face. Few who are not professional mathematicians can say that a Venn diagram shaped and guided the whole of their working life, but this one did. The equation the three intersecting circles in this particular diagram represented was this:

Clinicians are having to be too focused on targets to spend adequate time on giving individual prevention advice Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS hospitals offload sick on to families and GPs are called in to clear wards 

NHS hospitals offload sick on to families and GPs are called in to clear wards Tales of patients returning after operations to see people in their beds and a Leicester hospital asking relatives to administer injections to loved ones, has revealed the pressures facing the NHS. The Daily Mail

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Simon Stevens told to 'calm down' NHS furore or risk his future 

Simon Stevens told to 'calm down' NHS furore or risk his future The head of the NHS could risk his job unless he “calms” things down following his row about healthcare funding with Theresa May, senior Government sources say.

The remarks will increase pressure on Simon Stevens, who technically does not have to report to ministers as chief executive of the NHS in England.

Mr Stevens is at loggerheads with the Prime Minister amid a mounting crisis in Accident & Emergency units. The Daily Telegraph

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NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show

NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show Bed-blocking has risen more than 40 per cent in a year as hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with people needing care, figures showed on Thursday.

New data from November shows a health system under strain as it got ready to enter its busiest time ever over Christmas.

It follows warnings from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing that the NHS is now experiencing its worst ever winter crisis.

The research for England highlights acute problems with delayed discharges - where patients are medically fit to leave hospital but are stuck in beds due to problems arranging care in the community.

It follows calls from the head of the NHS for extra funding for social care. The Daily Telegraph

US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic

US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic A woman in Nevada has been killed by a superbug that proved resistant to every antibiotic available in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.

The woman’s condition was deemed incurable, and 26 different antibiotics were tested in vain before she died in September.

She was in her 70s, and had recently returned to the US after an extended visit to India, according to the CDC’s Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report. She had been hospitalised there multiple times before returning to the US and being admitted to an acute care hospital in Nevada in mid-August.

One week later local health authorities were notified that every possible medication had been tried without success. The CDC later determined that no drug currently on the market would have stopped the bacteria’s spread. The Daily Telegraph