How can local authority candidates improve mental health in their communities?

A briefing produced by the Centre for Mental Health has listed manifesto ideas for candidates in the upcoming local elections to consider to improve mental health for their communities. The policies include work to reduce poverty, improve the environment, support the best start in life and provide better access to quality services.

Public satisfaction with the NHS at all time low

The latest British Social Attitudes survey carried out by think tanks The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust has shown public overall satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to 29 per cent – a seven percent decrease from 2021 and the lowest level of satisfaction recorded since the survey began in 1983.

Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2022 | The King’s Fund (kingsfund.org.uk)

Inequalities found amongst people who got Covid

Inequalities in Covid rates have been found according to ethnicity, religion, measures of socioeconomic position, English proficiency and self-reported disability, according to a cohort study of 39 million people in England during the alpha and delta waves of Covid.

Inequalities in SARS-CoV-2 case rates by ethnicity, religion, measures of socioeconomic position, English proficiency, and self-reported disability: cohort study of 39 million people in England during the alpha and delta waves | BMJ Medicine

Women, smokers and those with severe infection most likely to get Long Covid

A systematic review and meta analysis of over 800,000 patients most likely to get Long Covid has found women, smokers and those who had severe COVID-19 infection are at a higher risk of Long COVID. 

Researchers also found that patients who had at least two doses of the COVID vaccine had a significantly lower risk of getting Long COVID.

Risk Factors Associated With Post−COVID-19 Condition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | Infectious Diseases | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network

Clinicians want more training in health equalities, report finds

Clinicians don’t feel they have enough training on health inequalities and would like more as part of their medical education, a report by the Royal College of Physicians has found. Of the clinicians’ surveyed 67 per cent of respondents had not received teaching or training in health inequalities within a training programme or as part of their degree and only 26 per cent felt confident in their ability to reduce the impact of health inequalities in their medical practice.