Month: October 2019

Improving the medical discharge process

Help for Heroes, October 2019

Help for Heroes policy paper that states that there are currently major inconsistencies and gaps in Ministry of Defence support for those being medically discharged. The government should commission an independent review and audit of the medical discharge process, to ensure those forced to leave the military as a result of their injuries or illnesses are provided with the best possible opportunity to transition well into civilian life.

Click here to view the full report.

Out of sight, out of mind: Bereaved parents falling through the gaps in mental health care

Sands, the Miscarriage Association, the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, ARC and Babyloss.com, October 2019

Report from Sands, the Miscarriage Association, the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, ARC and Babyloss.com calling on Governments across the UK to take action to ensure that all parents who experience pregnancy and baby loss and need specialist psychological support can access it, at a time and place that is right for them, free of charge, wherever they live. Information gathered by the Baby Loss Awareness Alliance shows that there is a clear need for specialist psychological support for this group. However, across the UK provision is too often unavailable, inaccessible or inappropriate. Too many people who experience a psychiatric illness after their loss do not receive the support they need. The negative impact individuals experience if they do not get the right support is vast. It affects all aspects of people’s lives including future pregnancies, personal relationships, physical health and employment. The repercussions are felt across wider society, costing the NHS more in the long run. There are pockets of good practice emerging across the UK, showing that bereaved parents can receive excellent specialist psychological support if the need is recognised and steps are taken to meet it. We must act to learn from this good practice and develop a shared understanding of what needs to be done, so that all bereaved parents requiring specialist psychological support get the help they need.

Click here to view the full report.

Life after loss: an economic evaluation of specialist counselling after baby loss

Centre for Mental Health, November 2019

This report is an economic evaluation of the baby loss charity Petals, which provides counselling to women who have experienced the death of a baby and their partners. The evaluation calculates that national provision of counselling to 4,822 mothers would cost £3.17m per annum, which would create a national safety-net of support to help parents at this immensely difficult time. No such service currently operates across England and Wales. The report highlights that specialist baby loss counselling is inexpensive, effective and reduces government expenditure.

Click here to view the full report.

Employer approaches to building placement capacity

NHS Employers, October 2019

Ambitions to scale up the number of nursing students across the NHS set out within the NHS Long Term Plan and the Interim People Plan will require services to increase the number clinical placements they offer. Understandably there is some apprehension about how additional capacity can be generated. This NHS Employers briefing provides an insight into some of the strategies and ideas being explored by employers to increase placement capacity and offers some options for you to consider.

Click here to view the full report.

Resource Toolkit for Healthcare Professionals in England: For World Antibiotic Awareness Week & European Antibiotic Awareness

Public Health England, October 2019

Guidance to help the NHS, local authorities and others support European Antibiotic Awareness Day and the Antibiotic Guardian campaign, to encourage responsible use of antibiotics. This guide is aimed at healthcare professionals.

Click here to view the full report.

The community mental health framework for adults and older adults

NHS England and NHS Improvement, September 2019

The Community Mental Health Framework describes how the Long Term Plan’s vision for a place-based community mental health model can be realised, and how community services should modernise to offer whole-person, whole-population health approaches, aligned with the new Primary Care Networks.

Click here to view the full report.

Evaluation of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES): Report on Initial Evaluation, January 2019

University of Sheffield and Lancaster University, September 2019

This document is an interim report detailing the first six months of an evaluation of the WRES. This is an independent evaluation, conducted at the University of Sheffield, in conjunction with Lancaster University, with funding provided by NHS England. Many aspects of addressing race inequality are specific to individual trusts and the historical and local context in which the organisations operate is important. It is particularly important to consider that it is too soon to expect to see significant change in healthcare delivery and outcomes as a result of the WRES; this will take years to bear proper fruit, and it is still the early stages of that journey.

• It is important that the WRES continues with the same commitment and momentum; it is vital to retain the same indicators and methodology so that trusts can learn as much as possible from their data, by monitoring change over time, and to help them embed the culture change that is needed to ensure greater race equality within the NHS

• It is essential that the future leadership of the WRES is considered a priority, both in terms of ensuring continuity at the national level and in terms of decentralised leadership so there is more expertise at a local level

• In order to maintain positive views of the WRES, steps should be taken to ensure that “monitoring fatigue” is kept to a minimum by allowing greater use of existing data and procedures. This may be particularly important for other initiatives such as the new Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES).

Click here to view the full report.

Occupational therapy: unlocking the potential of children and young people

Royal College of Occupational Therapists, September 2019

Royal College of Occupational Therapists report outlining the role that occupational therapists play in improving the lives of children and young people with physical, learning and mental health needs. It demonstrates, through a series of case studies, how occupational therapists help children and young people participate in the activities that they want or need to do at home, at school or work and during their free time. It also shows how occupational therapists are key to promoting collaboration between, health, social care, education and the voluntary sector.

Click here to view the full report.

International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support – Issue 1, 2019

Issue 1 of International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support has been published.  This edition includes articles on the impact of a brief PBS assessment on four children with intellectual disabilities and their families,  a cross sectional study of trauma symptomatology among staff working with people with intellectual disabilities who present challenging behaviour, and a review of restraint, prolonged seclusion and segregation for people with a mental health problem, a learning disability or autism.

Click here to view the table of contents.  Login with your LCFT OpenAthens account to view the full text articles.

Individual and local area factors associated with self-reported wellbeing, perceived social cohesion and sense of attachment to one’s community: analysis of the Understanding Society Survey

What Works Wellbeing, September 2019

What Works Wellbeing analysis of data from the Understanding Society Survey (USS) which follows a large sample of people from across Britain over time. This study was undertaken to examine questions likely to be especially relevant for those working in the field of public health intelligence, using small area statistics to identify localities where interventions may particularly need to be targeted in order to reduce inequalities in wellbeing across England. Key findings are:

• Those living in areas with worse Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores, and in areas with higher Social Fragmentation (SFI) Scores reported lower levels of social cohesion in their area and weaker sense of attachment to their neighbourhoods. SFI scores significantly predict perceived cohesion and attachment, in addition to IMD Scores.

• Those living in areas with worse IMDs scores reported lower (worse) wellbeing scores in survey wave 4 and less positive rates of change in wellbeing by wave 7, when all of the individual attributes are taken into account. Some domains of the IMD2010 index are more relevant for predicting wellbeing than others.

• Perception of social cohesion and sense of attachment to one’s neighbourhood were associated with self-reported wellbeing

Click here to view the full report.