Recovery is an increasingly popular concept and philosophy in mental health circles and rightly so. Many of us who have direct experience of suffering from a mental health condition extol the virtues of an educational self management approach that helps individuals to take responsibility for themselves. This kind of approach can help us develop the [read the full story…]
This new briefing paper from the NHS Confederation provides a clear overview of the mental health marketplace in England. Over £7 billion was invested in adult and older people mental health services in 2010/11. Most providers of services are statutory organisations, but there are also many charities, companies and social enterprises who make up the market. [read the full story…]
A partnership of leading mental health charities has launched a series of briefings to help develop better local mental health services. Following the publication of the implementation framework for the Government’s mental health strategy, these briefings set out the steps that local authorities and NHS commissioning groups can take to improve mental health care, treatment [read the full story…]
Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) help patients who are under the Mental Health Act to understanding the position they are in, look after their rights and make the right decisions about their care and treatment. Independent advocacy has been around for many years, but there have been very few evaluations of mental health advocacy to [read the full story…]
The NHS Confederation have published a new briefing that summarises the findings and recommendations from a recent report, commissioned by the Department of Health, into race equality in mental health. The report is based on a series of interviews with NHS and local authority leaders. The report suggests that focusing on tackling inequalities in access [read the full story…]
As general practitioners take the lead on commissioning for the NHS in England, a qualitative study of GPs and managers from four primary care trusts (PCTs) reports that active management of disparate groups leadership is a success factor, and that organisational processes may be a hindrance. The team from the School of Community-based Medicine, University [read the full story…]
Following on from the recent publication of the DH Atlas of Variation in Healthcare, Right Care have now released the equivalent atlas for children and young people. The document and the online interactive atlas present variations across the breadth of child health services provided by NHS England. The aim is to highlight unwarranted variations that [read the full story…]
Speech and language therapy for adults with a learning disability is concerned with supporting people who have disorders of communication or difficulties with swallowing. Support is developed and designned on an individualized basis following detailed assessment and diagnosis although support and training for carers can be an important part of the support strategy. The NHS [read the full story…]
A good read, this guidance may be an eye opener for NHS commissioners new to the game and wishing to rise above the minutiae of clinical redesign to look, in the round, at the steps involved in commissioning. It presents the principles on social return on investment in public service that can be applied to [read the full story…]
Health services are new territory for many Local Authority Councillors yet they will increasingly be required to get involved. Elected members and local authority staff play a key role in improving the health of our communities. Supporting innovation and improvement LG Improvement and Development focuses on the issues that are important to councils, using tried and [read the full story…]
