Learning Disabilities & Autism Bulletin

The latest Learning Disabilities & Autism bulletin is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/learning-disability-autism/2025/07/16-july-2025/


In this edition:

  • Developing and testing of an assessment tool for appropriate psychotropic drug prescribing in people with intellectual disabilities
  • Understanding the child and adolescent eating disorder treatment experiences of autistic people and parents
  • The Phenomenon of Pain in Adults With Intellectual Disability: A Qualitative Systematic Review
  • “There is just too much going on there”: Nonverbal communication experiences of autistic adults
  • 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future (easy read)
  • Understanding Brief Guides: Clear, accessible information for adults and carers
  • Plus much more

Please let me know if you think there are other people who would benefit from receiving this and I will add them to the mailing list.

Thank you

Suicide Prevention and Self Harm Bulletin

The latest Suicide Prevention and Self Harm Bulletin produced by the Mersey Care Evidently Better team is now available.

In this issue:      

  • Three Dads’ pride at suicide prevention lessons in schools
  • Provisional patient suicide data (2012-2024)
  • Effects of sandplay group therapy on children at risk of suicidal ideation
  • Suicide prevention starts before the crisis: intervention guidelines for university students
  • Work stress and its association with suicidal ideation, health and presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional study in the UK health and university workforce
  • Plus much more

If you are unable to access any of the included articles please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk.

SP_23july25Download

Perinatal Mental Health July 2025

With thanks to our colleagues at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation trust the latest Perinatal Mental Health bulletin is now available to view and download. Some articles are freely accessible, others require an Open Athens account.

Please get in touch for support with this: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk.

Perinatal-Mental-Health-Bulletin-July-2025Download

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

Depression & Anxiety The current bulletin for Depression & Anxiety, produced by Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, is now available to view and download. 

In this edition:

  • The impact of COVID-19 on parents from Black ethnic backgrounds in the UK: what we have learned and why it still matters
  • Revisiting 15 000 hours: towards sustainable school systems for mental health, well-being and learning
  • Work stress and its association with suicidal ideation, health and presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional study in the UK health and university workforce
  • Teen drug use today, mental health struggles tomorrow? What the evidence says
  • Plus much more

For support accessing any of the articles within the bulletin please contact: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

depr_anx_bulletin_22july25Download

Dementia Bulletin

The latest dementia bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service has now been published at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/dementia/2025/07/21-july-2025/

In this issue:

  • Music therapy may reduce distress for people with dementia
  • Programme to improve sleep in people with dementia is cost-effective
  • Acupuncture for patients with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized, patient–assessor-blinded, sham-controlled pilot study
  • Therapy for a genetic type of FTD hailed as potentially ‘transformative’   
  • Plus much more

Please let me know if you think there are other colleagues who would benefit from receiving this bulletin and I will add them to the mailing list.

Adult Social Care Across England

Performance Tracker Local

Institute for Government (IFG); 2025.

Examining the care gap in England. The provision of adult social care by local authorities in England should, in theory, be based on an individual’s need and ability to fund their own care. But this is not what is happening in practice.

Read the report (PDF)

A wheelchair user being lifted into a van
There is substantial variation in the levels of care England’s local authorites provide to older adults.

There exists a damaging geographical and demographic ‘care gap’ in England that means access to care for older adults is increasingly based not on need but on other factors – some perhaps less surprising, like local levels of deprivation and disability, but some more so, like the number of older people who live in an area.

That this nationwide variation is not new should not excuse the government from action. That it has grown and may well continue to grow as the over-65 population of England outpaces that of all other age groups makes that action more urgent. 

But to act well government needs to better understand the problem and how and where this care gap is forming and is at its most extreme. This is what this report, the latest in our Performance Tracker Local series supported by the Nuffield Foundation, seeks to help it do.

Amplifying Our Voices

Racialised Perspectives in Suicide Prevention

National Suicide Prevention Alliance; 2025

This report describes the lived experiences, insights, and reflections of racialised people working in suicide prevention. The report summarises themes on the strength of global majority perspectives, the invisibility of racialised communities in suicide prevention, the impact of systemic racism and the wider global context, and the power of self-care

NSPA-Amplifying-Voices-Racialised-Perspectives-1.pdf

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2025/07/8-july-2025-2/

In this edition:

  • Ten-year health plan misses the mark for mental health
  • NHS App could offer AI-driven mental health support
  • Harnessing digital innovation for children’s mental health
  • One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.

Adult Social Care

Sustaining the workforce

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST); 2025.

What investments and actions are required to create a sustainable health and social care workforce?

Key issues discussed included:

1. Workforce Challenges

  • High vacancy rates: Over 100,000 NHS and 131,000 ASC vacancies in 2023/24.
  • Heavy reliance on international staff: 21% of NHS and 19% of ASC workers are from overseas.
  • Retention issues: High leaver rates, use of temporary staff, and limited uptake of return-to-practice schemes.

2. Strategic Plans and Reforms

  • NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan (2023): Aims to reduce international reliance and address a 150,000 staff shortfall.
  • ASC Workforce Strategy (2024): Focuses on sector growth, education, and changing care demands.
  • Government reforms (2025): £86M for facilities, new career structures, digital platforms, and a national care commission.

3. Systemic and Structural Issues

  • Underinvestment in community care: Primary care funding fell from 8.9% to 8.1% (2015–2022).
  • Infrastructure and training gaps: Outdated systems, limited training opportunities, and fragmented ASC labour market.
  • Leadership diversity: Ethnic minority staff underrepresented in senior roles despite making up 25% of ASC workforce.

4. Policy and Organisational Changes

  • NHS England to be absorbed into DHSC (2025): Aims to reduce bureaucracy and improve care delivery.
  • New roles introduced: Enhanced care workers and others to address skill shortages, though concerns remain about regulation and outcomes.

5. Improving Retention and Productivity

  • Beyond pay: While better pay helps, non-monetary factors like flexible working, wellbeing, and leadership are crucial.
  • Management and morale: NHS is under-managed; better training and support for managers needed.
  • International recruitment concerns: Reports of exploitation led to a £12.5M fund and new guidance for ethical recruitment.