Response from the Royal College of Psychiatrists: Exploring mental health inpatient capacity

Royal College of Psychiatrists, November 2019

Royal College of Psychiatrists response to the report they commissioned from the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit’s Strategy Unit ‘Exploring Mental Health Inpatient Capacity accross Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in England’. The college call for:

• a national programme to support mental health providers to ensure time spent in hospital has clear clinical objectives and value and that all mental health trusts undertake local assessments of the demand for services in their area and make changes to their services accordingly (based on a Quality Improvement approach)

• continued investment in high-quality community mental health services in line with Long Term Plan and the new Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults.

Click here to view the report.

No age limit: the hidden face of domestic abuse

Age UK, November 2019

Age UK report calling for legislation to change what is understood as domestic abuse and make it easier for people to recognise or report it, as well as improving the resources available to help victims and survivors. This includes training for health care practitioners and better links between the NHS and police.

Click here to view the full report.

National workforce plan for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs)

Department of Health and Social Care, November 2019

Understanding the role of AMHPs in mental health services to help with recruitment and retention of the role in local areas. This document is a resource for agencies wishing to develop their AMHP services and aims to explain the role of AMHPs in mental health services. It contains a summary of all the current guidance. It is for local authorities, directors of adult and children’s social care, NHS mental health trusts, and integrated care system workforce leads.

Click here to view the full report.

Artificial intelligence: How to get it right: Putting policy into practice for safe data-driven innovation in health and care

NHSX, November 2019

NHSX report intended to provide a cohesive overview of the current state of play of data-driven technologies within the health and care system. It aims to make clear where in the system AI technologies can be utilised and the policy work that is, and will need to be done, to ensure this utilisation is done in a safe, effective and ethically acceptable manner.

Click here to view the full report.

A descriptive analysis of health care use by high cost, high need patients in England

The Health Foundation, November 2019

The Health Foundation report exploring health care use by the top 5 per cent of users of primary and secondary care services by cost.

• Despite the increasing financial pressure on the NHS over the past decades, there has been little research to understand the distribution and concentration of health care costs across the population.

• This paper explores for the first time the distribution of both primary and secondary health care costs in England, including GP-prescribed drug cost. Identifying high-cost, high-need patients and examining the way in which they use health care services might help to design initiatives to reduce costs or to improve efficiency.

Click here to view the full report.

Get a move on: Steps to increase activity levels in the UK

British Medical Association, October 2019

British Medical Association briefing that examines the wide range of benefits of physical activity, the current low levels of physical activity in the UK and the significant inequalities that exist in levels of physical activity within the population. Policy recommendations across four core parts of people’s lives

• travel,

• leisure,

• school

• work

It sets out the steps government and policy-makers should take to increase physical activity levels across the UK.

Click here to view the full report.