Rise in number of attacks against NHS staff

According to NHS Protect, there were 57,830 physical assaults on staff in England in 2010/11, compared with 56,718 the previous year. Of these, 69% involved medical factors such as patients suffering mental health issues, learning difficulties or conditions such as dementia, up on the 61% a year earlier.

NHS Commissioning Board Authority goes live

The NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the shadow form of the NHS Commissioning Board are now in operation. Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 through Parliament, over the next twelve months, the Board Authority will focus on designing a business model for the Board, which puts patients and clinical leadership at its heart. It will work in partnership with clinical commissioning group leaders, GPs and the Department of Health, to agree the method for establishing, authorising and running clinical commissioning groups. The Board Authority will also create the infrastructure and organise the resources to allow the NHS Commissioning Board to operate successfully as an independent body from October 2012.

Launch of Phase One of Children and Young People’s IAPT

Ministers have announced an investment of £32 million over the next four years in Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, taking the successful parts of the Adult IAPT programme and adapting them for children and young people. The first phase of the project will invest in three collaboratives based around London, Salford and Reading. Professor Sue Bailey said: “I welcome and applaud today’s announcement, both as President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and as a child psychiatrist working at Greater Manchester West NHS Mental Health Foundation Trust. This is the first phase of an investment that can, and will, make a real difference to improving the mental health and lives of children and young people.”

New ‘Talk to FRANK’ campaign goes live

A new campaign to promote and signpost FRANK, the national drugs information and advice service, to young people was recently launched. FRANK provides a friendly, confidential and non-judgemental service to anyone wanting advice about drugs.

Response to the Cooperation and Competition Panel’s report on patient choice

The Department of Health has published its response to the Cooperation and Competition Panel’s report on patient choice.

National survey of investment in mental health services

DoH has published ‘2010/11 working age adult and older adult National Survey of investment in Mental Health Services’ which provides details of the level of investment in mental health services for people aged 18-64 in England and compares it to previous years.

Mental Health Community Teams Activity data: 2011-12 Quarter 2

The main findings: 5,288 new cases of psychosis were served by Early Intervention teams during Quarter 1 and 2 of 2011-12; 97.2% of patients under adult mental illness specialties on Care Programme Approach were followed up within 7 days of discharge from psychiatric inpatient care; 97.3% of admissions to psychiatric inpatient wards were gate kept by Crisis Resolution Home Treatment teams.

A programme of Accelerated Learning Sets has launched to help emerging health and wellbeing boards to work together on the biggest challenges that face them on their way to statutory running from April 2013.