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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Optimal use of atypical antipsychotics in adolescents and adults with schizophrenia

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This ‘optimal use’ project from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health assesses the clinical and economic impact of using atypical antipsychotic combination therapy, as well as high-dosing treatment strategies, in adolescents and adults with schizophrenia. The report was produced by an expert panel who based their recommendations on a systematic review and [read the full story…]

Significant improvements needed to care for people with dementia in hospital, says national clinical audit

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The first full report of the National Audit of Dementia has identified a need for significant improvements in hospital ward environments, staff training and the overall approach to care delivery for patients with dementia. Although the majority of wards meet basic safety requirements, the audit shows that many had not addressed simple measures that could [read the full story…]

NICE publish guidance on how to make adult mental health care a ‘good experience’ for people

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Adult mental health services in the NHS should be improved to provide person-centred care that tackles the stigma associated with mental illness, says NICE. People with mental health issues should have access to mental health services when they need them, and should be actively involved in shared decision-making and supported in self-management. This latest NICE [read the full story…]

Abortions do not increase the risk of mental health problems, says new systematic review

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The world’s largest, most comprehensive systematic review into the mental health outcomes of induced abortion has been published by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. The review concludes that having an abortion does not increase the risk of mental health problems. The best current evidence suggests that it makes no difference to a woman’s mental [read the full story…]

More young people are recovering from drug and alcohol misuse according to new NHS statistics

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More young people are overcoming their problems with drug and alcohol misuse than ever before, according to the latest statistics for England released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA). 75% (10,507) of under-18s leaving drug and alcohol services last year successfully completed their programmes, compared to 48% (4,105) five years ago. The [read the full story…]

Depression prevention programmes show promise in helping children and young people, according to new Cochrane review

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By the age of 19, between a fifth and a quarter of young people have suffered from a depressive disorder. There are associations between depression and self-harm, suicide, substance abuse, poor academic performance and social dysfunction. The most robust evidence exists for two particular psychological interventions: cognitive behavioural therapy and interpersonal therapy. There is evidence [read the full story…]

Shared decision-making and medicines: closing the gap between policy and practice

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Shared decision-making is all the rage right now, so it’s great to see this new report written by Professor Alan Cribb from the Centre for Public Policy Research at King’s College London. There has been broad acceptance for many years that patient-centred care and shared decision-making between patients and healthcare professionals is a good idea, [read the full story…]

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The importance of housing in mental health recovery: a new briefing for mental health providers and housing associations

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This Mental Health Network briefing, produced in association with the National Housing Federation, outlines a number of routes that mental health providers and housing associations may wish to explore together to improve quality and reduce costs. A settled home is vital for good mental health. People with mental health problems are far less likely to [read the full story…]

New suicide prevention toolkits for community, emergency and general practice staff

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The prevention of suicide in inpatient mental health settings has long been a focus for clinicians and managers. Understanding what can be done in community, emergency and general practice settings to reduce the number of suicides has presented more of a challenge. This briefing introduces the National Patient Safety Agency’s (NPSA) new suicide prevention toolkits [read the full story…]

Childhood adversity and early-onset mental disorders are independently associated with adult onset chronic physical conditions

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Read this important new research if you work in mental health or public health and have an interest in the relationship between mental disorders and adversity in childhood and chronic physical conditions in later adult life. The cross sectional study was conducted by researchers in New Zealand who set out to investigate whether childhood adversities [read the full story…]