Information for you: GP Visit Guide

The Mental Health Foundation have published ‘Information for you: GP Visit Guide’ The aim of the guide is to help patients with mental health problems be aware of the range of treatments and services that GP’s provide.

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/gp-visit-guide/

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Evidence Updates

This Evidence Update highlights and provides commentary on selected new evidence published since the NICE guidance was issued. For each topic, the evidence was considered by an Evidence Update Advisory Group (EUAG), a panel of experts.  The update includes commentary from the EUAG on 16 new articles covering the following topics: initial treatment options in children and adults, choice of drug treatment in adults, options after poor response to initial treatment in children and adults.
http://www.evidence.nhs.uk/evidence-update-47

Dementia self-assessment framework

The Department for Health has published ‘Dementia self-assessment framework’. This tool has been developed to ensure implementation of the nursing contribution to dementia care, including the 6Cs and dementia pathway. The self-assessment framework was created by nurses and care staff to compare current dementia care with the best practice criteria. It is for use by health and social care staff, as well as wider teams and organisations when: considering changes to improve practice, developing a plan; and reviewing progress around their involvement in dementia care across the whole pathway. The contribution to the dementia care pathway by nurses and care staff includes: increasing basic awareness, reducing stigma and assessing, diagnosing and continuing to support people with dementia and carers through to end of life care.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dementia-self-assessment-framework

Schizophrenia omega 3 fatty acid: NICE medicine-related evidence summary

NICE has published the following medicine related – ‘Evidence summary’
–  Unlicensed/off-label medicines – Schizophrenia: omega-3 fatty acid medicines  (ESUOM19)
Summary:  The randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence for using omega-3 fatty acid medicines in people with schizophrenia is limited and the results are not consistent.

Details: http://www.nice.org.uk/mpc/evidencesummariesunlicensedofflabelmedicines/ESUOM19.jsp

Barriers to employment for people with mental health problems

The Centre for Mental Health has published a briefing ‘Barriers to employment: what works for people with mental health problems’. This briefing identifies where the main barriers to employment of people with mental health problems still lie, what is known about which interventions work (and should be provided more widely), and where there are gaps in evidence-based interventions and what might be tested to develop that evidence.

http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/barriers_to_employment.aspx?ID=678

Criminal victimisation of people with mental health issues

A new report by Mind and Victim Support, ‘At Risk, Yet Dismissed: the criminal victimisation of people with mental health problems’, highlights that people with a mental health condition are three times as likely as others to be the victims of crime and they report poorer experiences of the justice system. The report is the result of a study which was designed to understand experiences of victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system among people with mental health problems. The main questions the study sought to answer were: what proportion of people with severe mental illness had been a victim of violent or non-violent crime in the past year, and how does that compare to the general population and what are the barriers and facilitators for people with mental health problems, who have been victims of crime, in reporting crime, progressing through the criminal justice process, and accessing support?

Mind press release: http://www.mind.org.uk/news/show/9746_at_risk_yet_dismissed

Report:  http://www.mind.org.uk/assets/0002/8007/At_risk__yet_dismissed_report_FINAL_EMBARGOED.pdf

Long-term conditions

The King’s Fund has published ‘Delivering better services for people with long-term conditions: building the house of care’. The paper describes a co-ordinated service delivery model the ‘house of care’ that aims to deliver proactive, holistic and patient-centred care for people with long-term conditions. It incorporates learning from a number of sites in England that are working to achieve these goals, and makes recommendations on how key stakeholders can work together to improve care for people with long-term conditions. The model differs from others in two important ways: it encompasses all people with long-term conditions (not just those with a single disease or in high-risk groups) and it assumes an active role for patients, with collaborative personalised care planning at its heart.

http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/delivering-better-services-people-long-term-conditions

Future of Mental Health Services

The Mental Health Foundation has published ‘Starting Today: Future of Mental Health Services’. This report explores the findings of the inquiry into the Future of Mental Health Services. The inquiry aimed to review the provision of mental health services in the UK in the light of current and future health and socio-economic development, promote debate on the proper aims and ambitions of mental health services, and consider how to make mental health services fit for purpose to deal with challenges 20-30 years in the future.

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/starting-today-future-of-mental-health-services/

World Alzheimer Report 2013

Alzheimer Disease International has published The World Alzheimer Report 2013 ‘Journey of Caring: An analysis of long-term care for dementia’. The report calls for governments around the world to make dementia a priority by implementing national plans and initiating urgent national debates on future arrangements for long-term care. The report reveals that, as the world population ages, the traditional system of “informal” care by family, friends, and community will require much greater support. Globally, 13% of people aged 60 or over will require long-term care. Between 2010 and 2050, the total number of older people with care needs will nearly treble from 101 to 277 million.

Alzheimer Disease International:  http://www.alz.co.uk/news/world-alzheimer-report-2013-reveals-global-shortage-of-caregivers

BBC News report:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24162509

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder NICE Evidence Update

This evidence update issued in September 2013 presents ‘A summary of selected new evidence relevant to NICE clinical guideline 31 ‘Obsessive-compulsive disorder: core interventions in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder’ (2005)’

https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/evidence-update-47