Mental health response to disasters
Following disasters, UK survivors’ psychosocial needs are looked after by local authorities, possibly supplemented, since 2005, by a multi-agency “humanitarian assistance centre”. These centres come under the remit of the humanitarian assistance unit at the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport. People with acute mental health problems are treated by existing emergency and psychiatric services.
Patient privacy and dignity
5 Boroughs Partnership Trust is taking a lead in ensuring that service users, carers and their relatives are given information about the facilities they can expect on wards. This takes the form of an information folder containing an information leaflet, ward-specific fact sheet and DVD.
Public involvement
5 Boroughs Partnership Trust is the first trust in the North West to use a “diary room” style booth with a video camera, where people can sit and give their views on the trust and mental health.
Local mental health services' links with universities
Each Thursday evening in the drama studios at York St John University, Out of Character, a theatre company made up of people who use mental health services, students and staff, meets to rehearse. Next door, theatre students and staff run a course that provides a broad introduction to theatre.
Mental health in further education
The healthy further education steering group was launched in 2008 to meet the health needs of those studying and working in the further education sector.
Dementia strategy
In the UK there are approximately 700,000 people with dementia. In 30 years, this number is expected to double.
Carers and medical training
Michael Yousif looks at how carers’ experiences can be incorporated into psychiatric training
Mental health roadmap
The primary aim of world class commissioning is to improve the skills of primary care trusts to make them more effective commissioners. The 11 WCC competencies focus on the key areas required of PCTs, but some areas are inevitably more developed than others.
Mental health business intelligence
Dr Alex Horne examines why high quality business intelligence is critical to meeting the unique set of challenges being faced by mental health trusts
Mental health review tribunals
Health and social care managers now face new rules on the disclosure of information in mental health review tribunals.
Useful links
Child health: getting services right for children and adolescents
The NHS is not very good at focusing on children and young people. The question is why? While we have stopped seeing children as small adults, we have yet to properly recognise the needs of adolescents and people in early adulthood. There is a lot to do to improve outcomes.
