Care staffing in the NHS: the good, the bad and the promising

BPP University School of Nursing, December 2018
Report from BPP University School of Nursing looking at nurse recruitment. It finds while it is clear that NHS trusts are having to deal with budgetary pressures and a skills shortage which may be exacerbated by Brexit, they are also facing significant changes to their traditional training models. This includes factors such as cuts to bursaries and the declining numbers of those applying for nursing degrees.
Click here to view the full report.

Community Mental Health Survey 2018

Care Quality Commission, December 2018
Research on the experiences of people receiving community mental health services. It finds that people’s experiences of the care they receive from community-based mental health services have continued to deteriorate. Key concerns are expressed around:

  • access to care,
  • care planning
  • mental health conditions in relation to physical health needs
  • financial advice
  • advice on benefits.

Click here to view the full report.

Making Every Contact Count Bulletin – December 2018

The Gosall Library, December 2018
This Library bulletin provides further reading to support the ‘Making Every Contact Count’ programme.
There are links to recent research papers and articles in each of the MECC areas to give you further background information and evidence to consolidate what you have learned in your training, and to give you ideas and confidence for using MECC in your day-to-day encounters.
Click here to view the bulletin.

Intellectual engagement and cognitive ability in later life (the “use it or lose it” conjecture): longitudinal, prospective study

BMJ 2018;363:k4925
This longitudinal, prospective, observational study aims to examine the association between intellectual engagement and cognitive ability in later life, and determine whether the maintenance of intellectual engagement will offset age related cognitive decline.  The study concludes that self reported engagement is not associated with the trajectory of cognitive decline in late life, but is associated with the acquisition of ability during the life course. Overall, findings suggest that high performing adults engage and those that engage more being protected from relative decline.
Click here to view the full paper.

JAMA Psychiatry – November 2018

The November edition of JAMA Psychiatry is now available.  This issue includes articles on using brain-based phenotyping to improve discovery in psychiatry, and a randomized controlled trial of the effect of cannabidiol on medial temporal, midbrain, and striatal dysfunction in people at clinical high risk of psychosis.
Click here to access the full text articles.  You will need to login with your LCFT OpenAthens account.

Help at home: Use of assistive technology for older people

National Institute for Health Research, December 2018
This review presents a selection of recent research on assistive technology for older people funded by The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and other government funders. This has been selected with help from an expert steering group. In this review we focus on research around the use of technology in the home, remote monitoring systems and designing better environments for older people.
Click here to view the full report.

Independent Evaluation Of The Guinness Partnership’s Dementia Project

Housing LIN, November 2018
Evaluation of the progress made in becoming a more dementia-friendly organisation. The Guinness Partnership implemented a two year project in 2015 to take forward developments, initially in two pilot areas of Havant and Manchester with a view to rolling out successful approaches more broadly.
Click here to view the full report.

Empowering NHS leaders to lead

Department of Health and Social Care, November 2018
This review was led by Sir Ron Kerr and explored 3 challenges faced by executive leaders across the NHS:

  • expectations and support available for leaders
  • alignment of performance expectations at the organisational and system level
  • level of administrative burden placed upon executive leaders

The review makes a number of recommendations to address these challenges.
Click here to view the full report.

A Space to Talk: An evaluation of the WISH Centre’s services with young people who self-harm

Centre for Mental Health, November 2018
How can services meet the needs of young people who self-harm? The report analyses outcome data and by enganging with users of WISH services and stakeholders, finds that the WISH Centre’s work makes a difference to young people, by combining counselling and psychotherapy with facilitated peer support and outreach to young people in schools and communities. Young people who attend WISH have far fewer A&E attendances during that time than before, and at least two-thirds of young people had improved wellbeing after receiving therapy and over 80% reduce or stop self-harming. It concludes that The WISH Centre’s approach creates a safe space in which young people can get expert help in dealing with difficult issues and feelings while also helping each other. And by reaching out into schools and communities it helps to tackle stigma and make it easier for young people to seek help.  The report calls for:

  • CCGs and local authorities across the country to commission services similar to WISH to support young people struggling with self-harm;
  • Commissioning more for young men, and a specific offer for young people who identify as LGBT;
  • More support for parents, carers, teachers and other professionals;
  • Awareness-raising and myth-busting about self-harm to encourage young people to seek help.

Click here to view the full report.