State of the nation 2018-19: social mobility in Great Britain

Social Mobility Commission, May 2019
The Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation 2018 to 2019 report highlights inequality in Britain and sets out key findings and recommendations.  The report finds that the gap in school attainment and income between the rich and the poor has barely shifted in the past four years.  Being born privileged still means you usually remain privileged, whereas there are significant barriers to social mobility for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Click here to view the full report.
 

Raising the equality flag: Health inequalities among older LGBT people in the UK

International Longevity Centre UK, May 2019
This report highlights new findings from a recent project to explore the discrepancies in health outcomes experienced by older LGBT people.  The research reveals that a lifetime of prejudice and stigma is leading to worse physical and mental health, poorer access to health and social care, as well as greater levels of social isolation and loneliness among older LGBT people.  The report calls for action to address health inequalities for older LGBT people through improving the inclusivity of mainstream health and care provision, strengthening the training of health and care staff, and enhancing data collection around older LGBT people and their health and care needs.
Click here to view the full report.

Independent evaluation of the Think Ahead programme

Think Ahead, May 2019
The Think Ahead programme is a fast-track graduate scheme, offering graduates and career-changers a new route into mental health social work. This independent report contains an evaluation of the Think Ahead programme.  The findings of the report are mainly positive and the authors call for the programme to continue to be developed and supported.
Click here to view the full report.

Transitions to adulthood: the case for a cross-departmental taskforce

The Children’s Society, May 2019
One in five 16 year olds experience five or more complex issues. Their age means these young people often fall between the cracks of children’s and adults’ services and are left without support. Many face further challenges as support drops off overnight after their eighteenth birthday, making the transition into independent adulthood difficult. This report outlines steps that government departments and other agencies should take to improve transitions for young people. It recommends that the government forms a cross-departmental taskforce to look into transition planning for older teenagers as they move into adulthood, to ensure the best outcomes for vulnerable young people.
Click here to view the report.

Strengthening the frontline: Investing in primary care for effective suicide prevention

Centre for Mental Health, May 2019
This report explores the role of GP and primary care services in helping people who are at risk of suicide. About 6,000 people die by suicide each year in the UK. Only a third are in contact with mental health services in the year before their death, but many visit their GP in the months before their death. The report identifies five areas for improvement to help GPs to offer life-saving support:

  1. The provision of effective, ongoing training for GPs
  2. Investment in the capacity of primary care services to enable longer appointments and continuity of care for patients needing ongoing support
  3. Emotional support for GPs themselves
  4. More effective care pathways for people who feel suicidal to clinical and social support
  5. Opportunities to refer patients who need more specialist support.

Click here to view the full report.

Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE): consensus working group report

Brain, awz099, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz099
This study describes a recently recognized disease entity, limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). LATE shares similar symptoms to Alzheimer’s disease, but it is a distinct disease linked to different brain proteins.  Interventions designed for Alzheimer’s disease will therefore be ineffective for LATE.  Developing an understanding of LATE will hopefully lead to new avenues of research into dementia treatments and care.
Click here to access the paper.