Stopping smoking in acute mental health units: what works?

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Zoe Stoneley reviews a Taiwanese study on nicotine replacement therapy and healthy lifestyle psychoeducation for smoking reduction in acute psychiatric inpatients.

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Dementia ward inpatients need better protection from COVID-19

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Clarissa Giebel summarises a recent study on the prevalence, management, and outcomes of COVID-19 infections in older people and dementia patients on mental health wards.

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Music groups on acute mental health inpatient wards

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Una Foye highlights a small qualitative study that explores the benefits of establishing music groups on acute mental health inpatient wards. She reflects on the boredom felt by many inpatients and the importance of social connection and a positive ward atmosphere that may indirectly improve recovery and mental well-being.

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REsTRAIN YOURSELF: reducing restrictive practices on mental health wards #BCTcompare

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Krysia Canvin helps us prepare for the #BCTcompare event on Wed 5th June by blogging about a recent study, which looks at the outcome of a restraint reduction programme (‘REsTRAIN YOURSELF’) to minimise the use of physical restraint in acute mental health services.

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Smoking bans and violence on mental health wards: what’s the link?

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John Baker isn’t convinced by the findings of a systematic review on smoking bans and violence in mental health settings, which concludes that the introduction of smoke-free policies generally do not lead to an increase in violence.

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Sexual safety in mental health inpatient units #SexualSafetyMH

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Liz Hughes considers the findings and implications of the new CQC report on sexual safety on mental health wards, which calls for co-produced guidance to enable everyone who delivers mental health services to do the right thing about sexual safety.

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Reducing physical restraint: suggestions from patients and staff

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Rob Allison explores a recent qualitative study of mental health inpatients’ and staff members’ suggestions for reducing physical restraint.

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Staff training to improve patient experiences of mental health inpatient wards

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Danielle Lamb writes her debut elf blog on a recent RCT that investigates how staff training can improve patient experiences of mental health inpatient care.

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Could psychiatric inpatient admission cause suicide?

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Alex Langford considers a recent paper about inpatient suicide, which suggests that being on a psychiatric ward may possibly result in people taking their own life.

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Smoke-free policy in psychiatric hospitals associated with reduction in physical violence

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Olivia Maynard reports on a new study in The Lancet Psychiatry that explores the effect of implementing a smoke-free policy on physical violence in a psychiatric inpatient setting, which has some surprising findings.

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