Library Bulletin

Depression

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

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

Royal College of Psychiatrist

Eliminating inappropriate out of area placements in mental health

Source: Royal College of Psychiatrist

The government’s deadline to eliminate inappropriate out of area placements for adult acute patients by the end of March 2021 has now been missed by a full year. Sometimes hundreds of miles away from home, patients are unable to access their usual support networks while at their most vulnerable, often finding their care seriously disrupted, with long-term implications for their recovery. The NHS spent £102 million on inappropriate out of area placements in the 12 months up to and including March 2022 – the equivalent to the cost of the annual salary of more than 900 consultant psychiatrists. This briefing sets out the urgent action the NHS should take to ensure all patients get the care they need from properly staffed, specialist services in their local area.  

Mental health and loneliness

The relationship across life stages

Source: Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

This report presents the findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of loneliness among those who had experienced a mental health condition. Previous research has shown there is a link between experiences of loneliness and poor mental health. The DCMS commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to explore this issue across four key life stages as part of developing the evidence base for work on tackling loneliness.

Data saves lives

Reshaping health and social care with data

Source: The King’s Fund

This strategy sets out the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s vision for how data will be used to improve the health and care of the population in a safe, trusted and transparent way. It provides an overarching narrative and action plan to address the current cultural, behavioural and structural barriers in the system, with the ultimate goal of having a health and care system that is underpinned by high-quality and readily available data. The strategy also marks the next steps of the discussion about how we can best utilise data for the benefit of patients, service users, and the health and care system.

Tackling mental health disparities

Centre for Mental Health 

Source:King’s Fund

Mental health inequalities mean that while it is true that anyone can experience mental ill health, the risks are much higher for certain groups who experience structural discrimination and disadvantage. This briefing sets out 10 evidence-based actions that the government could take in the forthcoming disparities White Paper. Read the briefing here.

Public Health

Current Awareness

How can local authorities reduce obesity? Insights from NIHR research.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.
(This themed review draws on the breadth of NIHR research relevant to obesity, conversations with staff at local councils and at national organisations, and feedback from a group of practitioners, researchers and members of the public. Together they identify evidence-based actions that local authorities, working with their local partners, can take to reduce obesity in their communities.)

Support at the end of life: The role of hospice services across the UK.
Nuffield Trust; 2022.
(This new analysis draws on a nationwide survey of hospices conducted by Hospice UK to address a large gap in our understanding of the services that the hospice sector provides across the UK, including how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted those services.)

Fit for the Future: The Health Value of Wellbeing and Leisure Services.
District Councils’ Network; 2022.
(This new report from DCN, produced with health consultants HEC at University of East Anglia and Economics By Design, delivers strong evidence of the potential of these services to tackle health inequalities and level up our communities.)

Estimating suicide among higher education students, England and Wales: Experimental Statistics: 2017 to 2020.
Office of National Statistics (ONS); 2022.
(The suicide rate for higher education students in the academic year ending 2020 in England and Wales was 3.0 deaths per 100,000 students (64 suicide deaths); this is the lowest rate observed over the last four years, although the small numbers per year make it difficult to identify statistically significant differences. Higher education students in England and Wales had a significantly lower suicide rate compared with the general population of similar ages.)

Nursing under unsustainable pressures

Staffing for safe and effective care in the UK

Source: The King’s Fund

In March 2022, the RCN invited nursing and midwifery staff from across the UK to give their experiences of the last time they were at work. There were 20,325 responses to the survey. Eight in ten (83 per cent) said there weren’t enough nursing staff to meet all patient needs safely and effectively on their last shift. Just a quarter (25 per cent) of shifts had the planned number of registered nurses. Less than one in five (18 per cent) said they had enough time to provide the level of care they’d like. Read the report here.