Wednesday 7 February 2018

Transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to Adult Mental Health Services

Transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to Adult Mental Health Services Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, January 2018

This bulletin relates to an investigation into the transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to Adult Mental Health Services. A combined community and mental health Trust reported the case of an 18-year-old man who died by suicide shortly after transitioning from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) to the Adult Mental Health Service (AMHS). Identifies that some young adults may not be ready to transition to AMHS at 18 and benefit from additional short term support which may negate the need for AMHS. Lancashire Care Library and Information Service

How have public attitudes to the NHS changed over the past three decades?

How have public attitudes to the NHS changed over the past three decades? If you want to know whether the British public has changed its views about health care over the past three decades, then there is no better place to look than the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey.

Every year since 1983 the BSA survey, conducted by NatCen Social Research, has been asking members of the British public for their views on what it’s like to live in Britain and what they think about how Britain is run. The results give a snapshot of attitudes from a representative sample of more than 3,000 adults in Britain selected at random each year. The survey also provides valuable long-term trend data because some of the questions are asked every year. King's Fund 

News story: Public Health England urges vigilance about spotting signs of scarlet fever

News story: Public Health England urges vigilance about spotting signs of scarlet fever Scarlet fever is a very contagious, seasonal bacterial illness that mainly affects children and is not uncommon for this time of year.

The latest Health Protection Report showed 6,225 cases of scarlet fever had been reported since mid-September 2017, compared to 3,764 for the same period last season. There were 719 cases reported for the most recent week (22 to 28 January 2018).

This increasing trend is in line with usual patterns although cases are currently higher than those reported at this point in the last 4 seasons. It is not possible at this point to determine what the final numbers will be for this season. Scarlet fever is a clinical diagnosis and not usually confirmed by laboratory testing so the activity we may be seeing may be due to increased awareness and reporting of scarlet fever, although the exact cause is still being investigated. Gov.uk

Theresa May's Wales-England A&E comparison 'not valid'

Theresa May's Wales-England A&E comparison 'not valid' The UK Statistics Authority has backed First Minister Carwyn Jones's criticism of Prime Minister Theresa May's use of accident and emergency data.

Mr Jones said a comparison of those waiting 12 hours or more at A&E in Wales and England was unfair as the figures are measured in different ways.

Authority chairman Sir David Norgrove said the comparison was "not valid".

A spokesman for Mrs May accepted the assessment but insisted A&E performance in England was better than Wales. BBC News

Why hiking the immigration health surcharge is bad for the NHS - New Statesman

Why hiking the immigration health surcharge is bad for the NHS - New Statesman his week, the government announced plans to double the immigration health surcharge from £200 to £400 a year.

The increase is not as steep as the tripling of the health surcharge promised in the Conservative Party 2017 election manifesto.Still, the government estimates that the increase may raise an extra £220m a year for the NHS. So it’s ironic that while it may add a couple of hundred million to NHS funds, it also makes it harder for trusts to recruit much needed health workers from overseas. New Statesman

Working conditions and bursary scrapping blamed for NHS nursing crisis - ITV News

Working conditions and bursary scrapping blamed for NHS nursing crisis - ITV News There is a shortage of nurses in the NHS due to the number of those leaving the health service and an insufficient level being trained.

The working conditions within is being blamed for those quitting the profession, while the scrapping of bursaries for those in training is being pinpointed a the reason why so few are in training. ITV News

Desperate for help: prescription drug addicts turn to the web

Desperate for help: prescription drug addicts turn to the web Lack of government-funded services means growing numbers have nowhere else to turn

Thousands of people dependent on prescription drugs are desperately turning to online help groups and calling up charity helplines because of a lack of government-funded services.

A growing number of people struggling with addiction to painkillers, benzodiazepines and antidepressants are guiding each other through the process of withdrawal on Facebook groups and websites. They say they have nowhere else to turn. The Guardian

Teenage antidepressants 'doing more harm than good'

Teenage antidepressants 'doing more harm than good' A leading expert in psychiatric medication has said the growing prescription of antidepressants to teenagers is doing more harm than good.

Prof David Healy questioned why they were being given the medication when clinical trial results were so poor.

Last year, figures obtained by BBC Scotland showed more than 5,500 under-18s in Scotland were prescribed antidepressants.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists said the drugs were an important option. BBC News

Jeremy Hunt launches review of manslaughter in healthcare after Bawa-Garba case

Jeremy Hunt launches review of manslaughter in healthcare after Bawa-Garba case Jeremy Hunt has told MPs that his senior clinical advisor will lead a review to draw a clear line between manslaughter and basic human error in healthcare following the controversial case of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba. GP Online

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Young People's Mental Health Is On The Government's Agenda – But Do Recent Proposals Go Far Enough? - HuffPost UK

Young People's Mental Health Is On The Government's Agenda – But Do Recent Proposals Go Far Enough? - HuffPost UK This week is Children’s Mental Health Week. The latest figures show that 800,000 children in England have mental health disorders and between a sixth and a quarter of children referred to specialist treatment are turned away. Seventy-five per cent of lifelong mental health conditions develop by age 18, and people with serious mental ill-health live 10 to 20 years less than mentally healthy people. Figures released last week show a significant rise in self-harm in children as young as three.

The week is run by school counselling provider Place2Be – and provides a good opportunity to review the latest developments on children and young people’s mental health. HuffPost UK

More than 900 NHS deaths yearly may be caused by IT failings 

More than 900 NHS deaths yearly may be caused by IT failings

More than 900 people a year may be dying because of poor NHS computer systems, experts say.

Computer scientists said the number of tragedies resulting from hospital IT programmes which fail to detect risks of lethal errors, is likely to dwarf the numbers killed in scandals which led to major changes and public inquiries. The Telegraph

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NHS to offer 'gold standard' flu jabs next year amid concern over failings

NHS to offer 'gold standard' flu jabs next year amid concern over failings The NHS will offer stronger flu jabs next year amid concern that this year’s vaccinations have failed to work effectively.

Health officials said the public could expect “gold standard” protection from next winter, in a bid to cut death rates from flu.

It follows the worst influenza season in seven years, and criticism of NHS decisions to offer jabs which have not protected against key strains in circulation, and those which have previously failed to protect the elderly. The Telegraph

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Call for NHS to do more to help terminally ill people die at home

Call for NHS to do more to help terminally ill people die at home NICE call comes as data for England show 5% rise in people dying at home and 11% drop in hospital deaths

The government’s health advisers are urging the NHS to do more to help terminally ill patients achieve their wish of dying at home.

The call by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) comes after figures showed that fewer patients were dying in hospital and more were passing away at home or in a care home or hospice. The Guardian