Knowledge Toolkit no longer to be updated

The Rotherham Foundation Trust Library and Knowledge Service no longer has a contract with RDaSH to provide Library & Knowledge Services.  Thus the RDaSH Knowledge Toolkit will not be updated after 21^st November 2013.  The only service available to RDaSH staff after this date will be reference access to the physical books and journals held at Rotherham Hospital Library and Oak House, Bramley.
Please contact Heather Rice (Heather.Rice@rdash.nhs.uk) who will be able to provide details of the Library & Knowledge Service provision for RDaSH staff.

Health and wellbeing boards and mental health

Most of England’s health and wellbeing boards are prioritising at least one mental health issue in their joint health and wellbeing strategies but almost one in ten has ignored it entirely, according to research published by the Centre for Mental Health. ‘A Place for Parity’ looks at how much focus the boards have given to mental health, which areas they focus on and what factors helped or hindered the agenda of mental health during the development of the strategies.
http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/2013_HWBs_must_address_mental_health.aspx

The Mental Elf – latest commentary on published mental health research

The Mental Elf website covers important and reliable mental health research and guidance.  Updates are posted daily with short and snappy summaries that highlight evidence-based publications relevant to mental health practice in the UK and further afield.  Research covered recently is listed below:
Is ‘natural’ better? Evidence for the efficacy of complementary therapies for antenatal depression
Can MRI scanning help diagnose autism in infants?
Cochrane review finds no clear evidence for psychosocial interventions to help people with both severe mental illness and substance misuse
Financial incentives don’t increase depression screening for patients with chronic illnes
For more details see the Mental Elf website:  http://www.thementalelf.net/

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/

Drug treatment performing well but faces big challenges

The latest annual adult statistics released by Public Health England, reports that drug treatment in England has continued to perform well in 2012 to 2013, helping just over 29,000 people to recover from addiction. Specialist services remained easy to access for people who need help, with 98% waiting under three weeks to get into treatment. In 2012 to 2013, the overall number of people in treatment continued to fall, as did the number of people starting treatment for heroin and crack cocaine, particularly among younger age groups. These positive trends echo the overall decline in drug use and the move away from the most problematic substances. However treatment is now facing a series of significant challenges in sustaining this high performance: the treatment population is ageing, the over 40s are now the largest group starting and receiving treatment. Many are older heroin users who have failing health and entrenched addiction problems. This group is particularly hard to help into lasting recovery. The impact is beginning to show in the proportion of people successfully completing treatment, which has levelled off in 2012 to 2013 following an increasing trend over the previous 7 years.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drug-treatment-performing-well-but-faces-big-challenges

The Mental Elf – latest commentary on published mental health research

The Mental Elf website covers important and reliable mental health research and guidance.  Updates are posted daily with short and snappy summaries that highlight evidence-based publications relevant to mental health practice in the UK and further afield.  Research covered recently is listed below:
WEAVE RCT: GP training, but not screening, may benefit women who have experienced intimate partner violence
Pain causing challenging behaviour in people with dementia is overlooked and under-treated
Identifying risk factors in first episode psychosis: results from two new meta-analyses
Music therapy is a hit with the patients, but not in the results
We all know that the Internet can be a dangerous place for people with eating disorders, but can it also help them get better?
New Cochrane review examines the effectiveness of smoking cessation strategies in young people
Cost-effectiveness of St John’s wort for treatment of depression
Fashionable? Measurable? Doable? Measuring wellbeing for people with psychosis
Cost-effectiveness of St John’s wort for treatment of depression
Fashionable? Measurable? Doable? Measuring wellbeing for people with psychosis
Trauma exposure is pervasive among US youths
For more details see the Mental Elf website:  http://www.thementalelf.net/

Screening tests for alcohol disorders

Following the publication of research relating to alcohol screening, NICE has called on GPs to use NICE-recommended screening tests in primary care to help ensure people with alcohol-use disorders are identified and offered appropriate treatment. The research study ‘Alcohol consumption screening of newly-registered patients in primary care’ has been published in the British Journal of General Practice, and compares the number of people with alcohol-use disorders reported in primary care with those reported under official figures. Researchers found that primary care data reported 1 per cent of males and 0.5 per cent of females as higher risk drinkers. This compares with figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey, which found that 8 per cent of males and 7 per cent of females are at high risk. The researchers said that the use of NICE-recommended screening tests was rarely documented, and called for them to be used to improve the accurate reporting of alcohol-use disorders.
NICE press release:  http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/news/CallToUseScreeningTestsForAlcoholDisorders.jsp
Research:  http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3782804/pdf/bjgp-oct2013-63-615-e706.pdf

Patterns of drug use changing

Public Health England has published ‘Shooting Up: Infections among people who inject drugs in the UK 2012’ its latest report on drug use in the UK. The report finds that whilst heroin, on its own or in combination with crack-cocaine remains the most commonly injected drug, the number of people reporting their main injecting drug as amphetamines and amphetamine-type substances (like mephedrone), nearly tripled between 2002 and 2012. This group is also more likely to report sharing of injecting equipment, and less likely to have ever had tests for HIV or hepatitis C.
Press release:  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/patterns-of-drug-use-changing-but-risks-remain
Report:  http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/InfectiousDiseases/BloodBorneInfections/ShootingUp/1311ShootingupInfectionsamongIDUS/

Interim protocol for gender identity services

NHS England has published ‘Interim Gender Dysphoria Protocol and Service Guideline 2013/14’. The purpose of the document is to address the significant variations in equity of access currently experienced by patients using gender identity services across England. The protocol aims to achieve national consistency in the commissioning of these services, and is the culmination of work to adapt the NHS Scotland protocol, ensuring that it meets the needs of patients; provides for the safe delivery of services, and reflects NHS England structures. The document has been introduced primarily to allow time to develop, and publicly consult on, a new NHS England policy and service specification which will be developed through the Gender Identity Services Clinical Reference Group (CRG). It should be used and read in conjunction with the UK Intercollegiate Good Practice Guidelines for the Assessment and Treatment of Adults with Gender Dysphoria.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/2013/10/28/gender-protocol/

The Mental Elf – latest commentary on published mental health research

The Mental Elf website covers important and reliable mental health research and guidance.  Updates are posted daily with short and snappy summaries that highlight evidence-based publications relevant to mental health practice in the UK and further afield.  Research covered recently is listed below:

Seeing is believing; how does family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation affect psychological outcomes for family members?

Newer antipsychotics may increase the risk of pneumonia in schizophrenia

Cochrane review finds ‘solid’ evidence for CBT for anxiety in young people, but lacks evidence for long-term benefits
Suicidal ideation and behaviour may increase when adolescents are exposed to schoolmate and personally known suicides

Mindfulness-based stress reduction can alleviate stress and improve quality of life and mental health

Mixed effectiveness of population-level interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and harm

Cutting across diagnostic categories: Does stimulant medication improve ADHD symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder?

Do antipsychotics cause progressive brain changes in schizophrenia?

Are psychotic symptoms predictive of suicide attempts?

Mindfulness moderately effective for reducing symptoms of psychosis, though controlled studies less convincing

For more details see the Mental Elf website:  http://www.thementalelf.net/