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Other news
New Horizons: whole government
signs up to mental health and well-being
For the first time, the whole of government
has committed to promote mental wellbeing and to make life better
for people with mental health problems. The
New Horizons strategy brings with it a new set of
ambitions for the next 10 years of mental health policy in
England.
Professor Dinesh Bhugra, President of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, said: “We are particularly pleased to see the
strategy identifying a skilled workforce as the main resource for
delivering high quality care. The College is committed to playing
its part in the effective delivery of the New Horizons agenda, and
we will be considering the implications of New Horizons for the
training of psychiatrists and the delivery of clinical care. The
challenge now is to translate this broad agenda into concrete
actions that will, in a consistent way, make a real difference to
the lives of people with mental health problems."
Department of Health: overhaul of
support for people with mental health problems
New specialist coordinators and dedicated
advice lines for small businesses are part of a
radical overhaul of
support for people with mental health conditions.
Support will include the launch of a new network of mental health
coordinators in every Jobcentre Plus district to better coordinate
health and employment support at a local level and improve the
employment chances of Jobcentre Plus customers.
Department of Health: NHS
health and well-being review
The Department of Health commissioned an
independent review of the health and well-being of NHS staff in
November 2008. Dr Steve Boorman, who led the review, has now
produced a final report of his findings.
Autism Act 2009
The
Autism Act 2009 will drive change for adults with autism in
public sector services. The key requirements of the Act are for the
Department to publish a strategy for meeting the needs of adults
with autism, and issue associated guidance for local authorities
and NHS bodies.
Personal Care at Home Bill
The Personal Care at Home
Bill was recently introduced in Parliament and will help
individuals with the highest care needs remain independent for
longer.
Health aspects of violence against
women and girls
New reports looking into violence against
women and girls were recently launched, the first being the
Department of Health’s interim findings which fed into the Home
Office consultation and their new report,
'Together we can end
violence against women and girls: a strategy’. Also see
Sarah Payne’s report ‘Rape:
the victim experience’.
Health services join the fight against
youth crime
Care Services Minister Phil Hope has launched
the first
cross-government strategy designed to break the link between
poor health and youth crime. The strategy focuses on early
intervention to address health problems to ensure the underlying
causes of poor behaviour are tackled before problems become serious
or entrenched. It will also ensure that young people already in the
system have their health problems dealt with more effectively.
NHS Performance Framework – application
to mental health trusts
This document sets out the criteria against which mental health
trust performance (for non-FTs) will be assessed under the NHS
Performance Framework from April 2010.
Government urged to improve mental
health care for homeless
Rough sleepers are being let down by a
‘systematic failure’ to recognise the connection between mental
illness and homelessness, according to
a report from St Mungo's. The charity urged the Government to
do more to break the link by improving mental health services for
people sleeping on the streets.
Better Care, Better Value
Indicators – 10-step guides
If every NHS organisation improved its
performance to match that of the top quartile, NHS England could
realise £2.4 billion per year in productivity benefits. The NHS
Institute for Innovation and Improvement has produced guides to help providers and
commissioners derive optimum benefit from the Better Care,
Better Value indicators, converting the potential into reality.
New Care Quality Commission (CQC)
report
The CQC has issued a statement and report on adult social
care.The
report finds that adult social care has improved, but a
renewed effort is needed to eliminate poor quality services.
New Ipsos
Mori survey reveals extent of alcohol and drug addictions
Almost six in ten people claim to know someone with an alcohol,
drugs or mental health problem said new
poll commissioned by Inexcess Television. 57% of people
said they know someone with an alcohol or drug problem at addiction
level (where addiction is classed as an obsession, compulsion, or
excessive psychological dependence), or a mental health
problem.
Website helps doctors with reporting
knife wounds
The GMC has added a new series of tutorials to its website,
Good Medical Practice (GMP) in
Action. The online resource explores common real-life medical
and ethical dilemmas and explains how doctors should tackle them
using GMC guidance. New scenarios include balancing patient
confidentiality with risks to public safety when dealing with knife
wounds and when to contact the DVLA with concerns about a patient’s
safety as a driver.
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