Andre Tomlin

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André Tomlin is an Information Scientist with 20 years experience working in evidence-based healthcare. He's worked in the NHS, for Oxford University and since 2002 as Managing Director of Minervation Ltd, a consultancy company who do clever digital stuff for charities, universities and the public sector. Most recently André has been the driving force behind the Mental Elf and the National Elf Service; an innovative digital platform that helps professionals keep up to date with simple, clear and engaging summaries of evidence-based research. André is a Trustee at the Centre for Mental Health and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London Division of Psychiatry. He lives in Bristol, surrounded by dogs, elflings and lots of woodland!

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Improving mental health literacy does not lead to more help-seeking behaviour, according to new review

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The stigma and shame associated with mental illness can prevent people from seeking help. This can lead to much poorer outcomes as patients may often miss out on vital treatment early on in their illness. A number of theories have been put forward to explain why certain groups (e.g. young people, men, refugees) seem less [read the full story…]

Schizophrenia Commission report highlights what we can all do to improve care and understanding

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The research and campaigns relating to life outcomes for people with schizophrenia and psychosis are truly shocking. It seems unbelievable that people with schizophrenia face a lifespan 15-20 years shorter than the general population and that only 7% are able to hold down a job. Paul Jenkins from Rethink Mental Illness sums it up nicely: [read the full story…]

New NHS Confederation briefing on the future of liaison psychiatry

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The NHS Confederation have published a new report on liaison psychiatry services that has been written by the Centre for Mental Health. Liaison psychiatry is concerned with the interface between medicine and psychiatry and typically involves patients with medical conditions that also result in psychiatric or behavioural symptoms, such as delirium. The study set out [read the full story…]

Women react more to stress than men after reading negative news stories, according to new PLoS ONE study

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You won’t be surprised to hear that Mrs Elf and I have stopped watching the Oak Tree TV News and we’ve also stopped listening to the Woodland Wire on the wireless. Goodness me, the news is always so depressing! “Blah blah blah, chalara ash dieback, blah blah blah, badger cull”. To be honest, we’d rather [read the full story…]

Risk factors for suicide and accidental death. What can we learn from last episodes of self-harm?

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Self-destructive behaviour is often brought on by mental illness, poverty and other life problems. As individuals spiral down they sometimes come into contact with health and social care services. This may be a primary care visit, emergency treatment in hospital or simple cries for help to friends and family. Hindsight would show us that a [read the full story…]

A public health approach to violence prevention: new report from the Department of Health

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The Department of Health have commissioned the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) to produce a high level report to provide information and evidence for policy makers, public health staff and commissioners to use in developing preventative approaches to violence. The report entitled ‘Protecting People, Promoting Health – A public health approach to violence prevention [read the full story…]

Teaching GPs about depression and suicide can help reduce the risk of suicide in depressed older adults, says new RCT

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A great deal of time and money has been spent on improving the diagnosis and management of depression and self-harm in primary care. The evidence tells us that collaborative care and case management can be effective approaches, which is all well and good, but these complex interventions are not always feasible. This new cluster randomised [read the full story…]

New QIPP case studies from NICE

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If you work in the NHS, public health or social care, you’ve probably heard of QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention), but have you heard of the QIPP collection? It’s a website run by NICE that contains: QIPP case studies – examples of how health and social care staff are improving quality and productivity across [read the full story…]

Cochrane review finds weak evidence for early intensive behavioural intervention for autism spectrum disorders

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Early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) involves 20-40 hours of individualised instruction each week for children with autism. The therapy usually begins at age 4 or younger and continues for 2-3 years.  The technique was pioneered by Dr. Ivar Lovaas and colleagues in the 1970s. A new systematic review from the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems [read the full story…]

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may help reduce schizophrenia symptoms

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There is an increasing body of research that suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the development of schizophrenia. It is therefore logical to consider using anti-inflammatory drugs as a component within the overall treatment approach for people with schizophrenia. This new systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by researchers from the University Medical [read the full story…]