The Francis Inquiry (2013) focused the attention of the general public onto poor quality nursing care. As a direct result of this inquiry, NICE was asked to review the evidence base for safe nurse staffing levels in nine care settings in England. Two of these reviews focused on mental health, with reviews proposed for acute inpatient and community care. This work was halted in June 2015 by NHS England, and it was thought that the majority of this work would not be completed and published.
Conclusions
The administrative elements of care co-ordination reduce opportunities for recovery-focused and personalised work. There were few shared understandings of recovery, which may limit shared goals. Conversations on risk appeared to be neglected and assessments kept from service users. A reluctance to engage in dialogue about risk management may work against opportunities for positive risk-taking as part of recovery-focused work.
A caseload management tool was developed with the aim of creating a straightforward, unbiased way of assessing a clinician's caseload for the community mental health teams (CMHTs) in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. For the first time, the tool developed allows for individual clinicians to record caseloads electronically, enabling decision makers and their teams to assess caseloads.To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Open access. Trauma-informed approaches emerged partly in response to research demonstrating that trauma is widespread across society, that it is highly correlated with mental health and that this is a costly public health issue. The fundamental shift in providing support using a trauma-informed approach is to move from thinking ‘What is wrong with you?’ to considering ‘What happened to you?’. This article, authored by trauma survivors and service providers, describes trauma-informed approaches to mental healthcare, why they are needed and how barriers can be overcome so that they can be implemented as an organisational change process.
The Admiral Nurse Service, which is provided by specialist dementia nurses, will be based in the community and the nurses will work with local families to ensure they are better able to understand and cope with the changes which can occur with dementia. They will work with the family to make informed decisions about their future needs, to enable the family to stay together for as long as possible.
Admiral nurses play a unique role in care management by joining up the different parts of the health and social care system, and help address the needs of family carers and people with dementia in a coordinated way.
The Admiral Nurse Service is delivered by ourTrust and works in partnership with Dementia UK which governs and monitors the service. The service has been running in Knowsley since 2011.
This essay addresses common arguments against implementing smoke-free policies in mental health facilities drawing on the international research evidence. Key arguments supporting implementation of smoke-free policies in mental health facilities are also outlined. This commentary provides policy makers, researchers, and clinicians with information to dispel myths about smoke-free policies in mental health facilities and provides arguments advocating for implementation of these policies. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Valerie Provan is a Nurse Consultant on Ruskin Unit, an assessment unit in Carlisle for older adults with organic mental illnesses such as Dementia. It is the only nurse led treatment centre of its kind in the country and several other trusts have visited to see how it could be replicated elsewhere.
We’ve just heard that SSOTP will not be renewing their agreement with SSSFT LKS for library services for this financial year. Because of this we will be reviewing our Be Aware bulletins. Sadly we won’t be accepting any new sign-ups from SSOTP staff and will be withdrawing some of the physical healthcare bulletins that we…
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The article discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by workforce transformation in clinical care which was prompted by a Nufffield Trust report on practical guidance to those wishing to reshape their workforce. Topics covered include the areas for consideration when undertaking transformation such as increase demand and service costs and the simplification of the legal framework to enable regulators to respond to changing needs. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
People with learning disabilities and a mental health condition are now getting more support to look after their physical health thanks to a team of specialist mental health nurses working in GP practices across Suffolk.
A new initiative has been launched on Meadow Ward at Penn Hospital to encourage staff to take frequent breaks to help improve their health and wellbeing.
The ‘taking a break' initiative aims to help make staff aware that taking enough breaks can also help them to provide the highest standard of patient care, by putting them in a position to make the best decisions for patients and helping to strengthen morale and create relationships.
Research shows that changing from white to blue plates enables patients with dementia to see food better as sometimes, they experience difficulties with their sight and perception. For example, chicken, mashed potatoes, porridge, white bread and other typically pale-coloured foods stand out more on blue plates and encourage individuals to eat more. In turn, this will reduce food wastage.
Safe staffing and coercive practices are of pressing concern for mental health services. These are inter‐dependent and the relationship is under‐researched.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.