News, reports and resources

Learning together – a collaborative case discussion

This webinar was chaired by Professor Linda Gask, Consultant Psychiatrist and is a collaborative case discussion between GPs and Old Age Psychiatrists, focusing on:

  • Anxiety and depression – Professor Carolyn-Chew Graham (Academic GP) and Dr Suhana Ahmed (Consultant Psychiatrist)
  • Risk assessment – Dr Ruth Thompson (GP) and Dr Suhana Ahmed (Consultant Psychiatrist)
  • Alcohol – Dr Tony Rao (Consultant Psychiatrist) and Dr Ruth Thompson (GP)
  • Sleep disturbance – Professor Hazel Everitt (Academic GP) and Dr Mani Krishnan (Consultant Psychiatrist)

 

You can find additional resources below:

Community Mental Health Transformation webinar, 26 April 2021

 

This webinar discusses what is proposed in the Community Mental Health Transformation plan and suggests practical tips in implementing the plan. This video features the following speakers:

  • Dr Mani Krishnan chairs the webinar
  • Dr Amanda Thompsell, National Speciality Advisor for Older Adults’ Mental Health at NHSE & I, discusses the details of the plan and she explains whom to contact to find out about your local plan. She runs through some of the steps needed to be taken and share an example of how co-production works in practice. She also discusses with you some of the possible enablers.
  • Dr Josie Jenkinson facilitates the Q&A session

The slides from this webinar are available to download.

You can find additional resources below:

Your local Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)

Examples of how colleagues are engaging with CMH Transformation

NHSE&I guidance to funding: Bottom of page 22 mentions aligning with Ageing Well and Frailty NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan, 2019/20 - 2023/24: The NHS Implementation Plan mentions aligning with Ageing Well on page 16, page 26 and page 36 and page 37

Personality disorders in later life: epidemiology, presentation and management – Ayesha Bangash, BJPsych Advances (2020), vol. 26, 219–220 doi: 10.1192/bja.2020.19

Late-onset personality disorder: a condition still steeped in ignorance – Peter Tyrer and Robert Howard, BJPsych Advances (2020), vol. 26, 219–220 doi: 10.1192/bja.2020.19

The Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the National Collaborating Central for Mental Health, September 2019

Action required to tackle health inequalities in latest phase of COVID-19 response and recovery, NHSE, 2021

PHE Fingertips

Future NHS Collaboration Platform

Training materials

View the main College resources on COVID-19.

Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry webinar: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on functional mental health of older adults – Monday 23  November 2020:  This webinar highlights emerging research findings and includes case studies of presentations of functional mental health issues in older people related to COVID-19. This video features the following speakers:

  • Dr Mani Krishnan welcomes and introduces the speakers
  • Dr Suhana Ahmed, Consultant Psychiatrist, South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust, describes some case presentations of functional mental illness in older adults during COVID-19.
  • Dr Kapila Sachdev, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, East London NHS Foundation Trust gives a summary of recent research findings on the impact COVID-19 on older people's mental health.
  • Dr Josie Jenkinson, Consultant Psychiatrist for Older People, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust talks about research on deliberate self-harm in older people during the coronavirus pandemic and shares preliminary findings.

The slides from this event are available to download.

Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry live update session: Transforming community mental health care provision for older people – 23 June 2020: This video features the following speakers:

  • Dr Mani Krishnan welcomes and introduces the speakers
  • Dr Amanda Thompsell explains the background to the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme (England) in the current context
    Dr Fiona Goudie and James Sutherland from Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS FT, one of the early implementer sites, tell us how they put their proposal together and how it is on the ground.
  • Viral Kantaria, Programme Manager NHSE&I for Adult Mental Health (Community) gives a summary of his insights on what local communities  should consider in their proposals
  • Dr Josie Jenkinson hosts a Q & A session with our speakers

The slides from this event are available to download.

Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry – live update session and memory service guidance - 15 May 2020: This video features the following speakers:

  • Dr Amanda Thompsell explains the new national guidance on memory clinics, along with a faculty update
  • Dr Venkat Muthukrishnan shows how his services have set out to do memory clinic assessments in the current COVID situation
  • Dr Juliette Brown & Dr Cate Bailey host an interactive case-based discussion of a patient with a combination of functional and organic presentation - how we assess and manage in COVID social distancing situations
  • Dr Mani Krishnan and Dr Josie Jenkinson host a Q & A session with our speakers

The slides from this event are available to download.

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Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry Annual Meeting, 16-17 March 2023, In-person (RCPsych London) and live stream.

The epidemiology and presentation of mental illness in older people is different to younger adults, and older people with mental illness often have a unique and complex set of physical, psychological and social factors complicating their care. For these reasons older people need dedicated inpatient and community mental health teams to look after them.

There is a global history of ageism in the funding and delivery of mental health services for older people. The UK has led the way in developing age-specific services which research has shown improve care in this group. These services are now under threat in the UK by the move to "ageless services". Commissioners and trusts have various reasons to consider this including a misguided belief it may save money or misinterpretation of the Equalities Acts around the UK.

The College is clear that older people need dedicated age-specific mental health services. We have assembled a compendium of evidence to support this below.

If your services are under threat, please look at and use this evidence. Many people have already found it helpful to rebut the move to ageless services.

Please give us any feedback as to whether these resources help or not in your fight to preserve your services.

College reports

College joint reports

Faculty reports

National adoption of FDG-PET scanning in Wales

Background information on the RCPsych Wales website

Interview with Dr Chineze Ivenso, Chair of Old Age Faculty, RCPsych Wales, ITV Wales


Faculty documents and submissions

Survey of services results

Dementia

Other topics

Videos

We have curated a selection of videos created by other organisations for sharing and teaching purposes.

Watch our video resources

The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry are pleased to announce the launch of “Delivering the NHS Long-Term Plan's ambition of ageing well: Old age psychiatry as a vital resource”.

Read the report (PDF)

Successfully delivering the welcome ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) for older people depends on the recognition that specialist OPMH services provide essential expertise. Access to these specialist services must be incorporated at every stage of planning and implementation in all areas to meet the needs of older people.

This report incorporates views from older people, service users, carers and a wide range of health and social care professionals and provides insight into:

  • the essential role played by old age psychiatrists, and the Older People’s Mental Health (OPMH) services to whom they provide leadership, in delivering high quality outcomes for the health and wellbeing of the UK’s ageing population;
  • the centrality of this to the Ageing Well agenda; and
  • how best to support decision-makers responsible for implementing the NHS LTP as it affects older people

This report summarises good practice examples of collaboration and innovations involving old age psychiatrists across different health and social care settings, and especially in care homes. 

While the LTP sets out a vision for health services in England this report is also relevant for those involved in the development and commissioning of integrated health and social care services for older people across the UK devolved nations.

Our thanks goes to Dr Mohan Bhat and colleagues for producing this document and to all of you who sent in examples to be included.

I urge you to share this report with your local Commissioners and colleagues involved in the Primary Care Networks , Integrated Care Systems and Sustainability and Transformation plans.
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