The growth of crowdfunding websites has opened up the possibility of private or alternative medical treatment for people who would not otherwise have the money to pay for it. Many people, including friends, family and strangers, are moved to donate when people plead for "another chance" of a cure for terminal cancer.
People may look for alternatives after being told there is nothing further that the NHS can do for them and that all proven treatments have been exhausted. Not surprisingly, they may be willing to try any treatments that might prolong their lives, even if there is little or no evidence to prove that they work.
Over 150 people and organisations from the public, voluntary and community sector, attended the conference. This year’s programme focused on guest speakers who have been affected by suicidal thoughts, bereaved by suicide or who work with people most at risk of self-harm and suicide.
This study supports current understanding that for older adults with no previous history of cardiovascular disease, the benefits of taking aspirin are small and do not outweigh the risks.
But if you have been advised to take aspirin due to a history of cardiovascular disease you should not stop taking it without first talking to your GP.
This study adds to evidence that keeping healthy during pregnancy, with a good diet and plenty of exercise, can give the baby a head start when it comes to its own health.
There's a pervasive myth that women need to "eat for 2" while pregnant, but that's not true.
This research describes the development of a tool to identify individuals in the criminal justice system who may be more likely to have a learning disability and struggle with their sentence.
A Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) was undertaken to improve understanding of self-harm in adult men in prison to inform strategies for providing safer custody for those in crisis and identifying effective interventions.
If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no deal, find out how the rules governing data protection would change. This includes:
sharing personal data collected by EU organisations with UK organisations
sharing personal data collected by UK organisations with EU organisations
Falls are the number one reason older people are taken to the emergency department in a hospital. Most falls don’t cause serious injury but they can leave you distressed. The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to stay steady on your feet.
Falls and fall-related injuries are a serious cause of morbidity and cost to society. Environmental hazards are implicated as a major contributor to falls among older people. A recent Cochrane review found an environmental assessment, undertaken by an occupational therapist, to be an effective approach to reducing falls. However, none of the trials included a cost-effectiveness evaluation in the UK setting. This protocol describes a large multicentre trial investigating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of environmental assessment and modification within the home with the aim of preventing falls in older people. Open Access Article
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2202-2212.
Research into violence among military personnel has not differentiated between stranger- and family-directed violence. While military factors (combat exposure and post-deployment mental health problems) are risk factors for general violence, there has been limited research on their impact on violence within the family environment. This study aims to compare the prevalence of family-directed and stranger-directed violence among a deployed sample of UK military personnel and to explore risk factors associated with both family- and stranger-directed violence.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
I investigated the effects of opioid pain medications versus non-opioid pain medications on pain relief, satisfaction with pain relief and disability after musculoskeletal trauma. The main objectives were to: (1) evaluate the differences in pain management after extremity fractures in the Netherlands and the USA, (2) test if current analgesic prescription management in fracture patients is suitable and (3) find factors associated with continued use of opioids after surgery for musculoskeletal trauma in the USA. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2159-2168.
Many preschool-age children meet criteria for psychiatric disorders, and rates approach those observed in later childhood and adolescence. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal research examining the outcomes of preschool diagnoses.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2257-2263.
The intergenerational risk for mental illness is well established within diagnostic categories, but the risk is unlikely to respect diagnostic boundaries and may be reflected more broadly in early life vulnerabilities. We aimed to establish patterns of association between externalising and internalising vulnerabilities in early childhood and parental mental disorder across the full spectrum of diagnoses.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
The psychological consequences of child sexual abuse on children’s mental health and emotional well-being are well documented, and the importance of safeguarding training for professionals working with children and young people unequivocal. Effective support for children who have been sexually abused online is essential to enable them to progress towards recovery. Yet many professionals feel they lack knowledge and understanding of how best to work with children who have been sexually abused online. This study therefore evaluates the outcomes of a short inter-professional training course designed to develop professionals’ competence and confidence when responding to the needs of children and their families after online sexual abuse. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent condition seen across primary care services. Although evidence‐based guidelines have encouraged the prescription of medications, including analgesics, for this population, there remains uncertainty as to which types of individuals actually take prescribed or over‐the‐counter medications. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there is a difference in characteristics between people who take medicines for OA compared with those who do not.
Methotrexate is commonly used to treat patients with inflammatory arthritis. A key role of a rheumatology nurse is to educate patients on how to take this drug safely prior to the commencement of treatment. The objective of the present study was to explore the experiences of rheumatology nurses conducting this role, focusing on the content of the consultation and training received to perform the role.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2140-2152.
More than half of patients who present with depressive disorders also have elevated comorbid anxiety symptoms. Given the high comorbidity between these disorders, it is important to understand the extent that psychotherapies for depression additionally ameliorate symptoms of anxiety.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Open access. Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2130-2139.
Current policy emphasises the importance of ‘living well’ with dementia, but there has been no comprehensive synthesis of the factors related to quality of life (QoL), subjective well-being or life satisfaction in people with dementia. We examined the available evidence in a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2247-2256.
Cognitive deficits are a core feature of early stages in schizophrenia. However, the extent to which antipsychotic (AP) have a deleterious effect on cognitive performance remains under debate. We aim to investigate whether anticholinergic loadings and dose of AP drugs in first episode of psychosis (FEP) in advanced phase of remission are associated with cognitive impairment and the differences between premorbid intellectual quotient (IQ) subgroups.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2169-2176.
Evidence regarding the association between cannabis use and depression remain conflicting, especially as studies have not typically adopted a longitudinal design with a follow-up period that was long enough to adequately cover the risk period for onset of depression.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2213-2222.
The course of illness in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) varies significantly between patients. Little is known about factors predicting a chronic course of illness. The aim of this study is to identify factors involved in inducing and in maintaining chronicity in OCD.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Open access. Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2264-2272.
The vulnerability hypothesis suggests that impairments after remission of depressive episodes reflect a pre-existing vulnerability, while the scar hypothesis proposes that depression leaves residual impairments that confer risk of subsequent episodes. We prospectively examined vulnerability and scar effects in mental and physical functioning in a representative Dutch population sample.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2177-2185.
Cognitive–behavioral group therapy (CBGT) is a first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, since many patients remain symptomatic post-treatment, there is a need for augmenting procedures. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the potential augmentation effect of attention bias modification (ABM) for CBGT.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2116-2129.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have become widely used for common mental disorders (CMDs) but the state of the evidence has not been sufficiently investigated.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2101-2115.
Considering existing knowledge on the relationship between certain environmental factors and incidence rates of psychosis, we carried out a systematic review to provide a broad and updated picture of the incidences of different psychotic disorder subgroups worldwide and how some environmental factors influence these rates.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Rotator cuff disorders represent the commonest type of painful shoulder complaints in clinical practice. Although conservative treatment including physiotherapy is generally recommended as first-line treatment, little is known about the precise treatment indications for subgroups of rotator cuff disorders, particularly people with shoulder pain associated with partial-thickness tears of the rotator cuff, PTTs: “symptomatic PPTs”. The aim of this study was to develop a prognostic model for predicting the outcome of a phase of conservative treatment primarily with physiotherapy in adults with symptomatic PTTs.
Independent Age, the older people’s charity, is calling for free personal care for all those who need it in England, who are aged 65 and over, to help solve the social care crisis. In new polling carried out by YouGov exclusively for Independent Age, the majority of adults in England would support paying more in tax or a lump sum to fund free personal care.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2186-2193.
Childhood adversity is associated with cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. However, findings to date are inconsistent and little is known about the relationship between social cognition and childhood trauma. We investigated the relationship between childhood abuse and neglect and cognitive function in patients with a first-episode of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder (n = 56) and matched healthy controls (n = 52). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing this relationship in patients and controls exposed to similarly high levels of trauma.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
A year-long tele-therapy pilot study, funded by The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and undertaken by Combat Stress, has shown it to be an accessible, flexible and cost-effective approach to delivering trauma-focused therapies. Tele-therapy provides therapy through a live video connection, over the internet such as Skype.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2223-2234.
Fear responses are particularly intense and persistent in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and can be evoked by unspecific cues that resemble the original traumatic event. Overgeneralisation of fear might be one of the underlying mechanisms. We investigated the generalisation and discrimination of fear in individuals with and without PTSD related to prolonged childhood maltreatment.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 13, (Oct 2018): 2153-2158.
Previous studies find that both schizophrenia and mood disorder risk alleles contribute to adult depression and anxiety. Emotional problems (depression or anxiety) begin in childhood and show strong continuities into adult life; this suggests that symptoms are the manifestation of the same underlying liability across different ages. However, other findings suggest that there are developmental differences in the etiology of emotional problems at different ages. To our knowledge, no study has prospectively examined the impact of psychiatric risk alleles on emotional problems at different ages in the same individuals.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Communities have an important role to play in suicide prevention. They can provide support to people who are vulnerable and to those who have made an attempt on their life. They can provide comfort to people who have lost someone to suicide and can also help fight stigma.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2409-2417.
Conceptualizing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as a dynamic system of causal elements could provide valuable insights into the way that PTSD develops and is maintained in traumatized individuals. We present the first study to apply a multilevel network model to produce an exploratory empirical conceptualization of dynamic networks of PTSD symptoms, using data collected during a period of conflict.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Music therapists have described powerful case examples and personal experiences of providing music therapy for clients who are actively dying that suggest a complex experience that merits further exploration. This phenomenological study was conducted to gain a better understanding of the lived experience of music therapists working with clients who are actively dying. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Public interest in the benefits of music for people with dementia has rapidly increased in recent years. In addition to clinical work with clients, music therapists are often required to support and train staff, families, and volunteers and skill-share some music therapeutic skills. Six music therapy researchers from six countries agreed it was timely to organize a roundtable and share their indirect music therapy practice and examples of skill-sharing in dementia care. This article was developed following the roundtable at the World Congress of Music Therapy in 2017 and further discussion among the authors. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Today, senior leaders in the NHS published a letter that was sent to all chief executives of NHS trusts highlighting the importance of healthcare workers protecting their patients, colleagues and families by getting vaccinated against flu.
Best interests assessors and other professionals expressed worry over a lack of professional oversight of decision making within care homes and weakening of people’s rights to challenge decisions
NHS England will again provide free flu vaccinations for social care staff who offer direct patient care this flu season. This year, the free jab will also be extended to include health and care staff in the voluntary managed hospice sector who offer direct patient care.
You have a duty of candour if you make a professional error. Here’s how to handle the situation. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Service users and social care professionals discussed plans to replace the nearest relative role and give service users greater authority over care planning
Work in Morecambe Bay to improve health inequalities, including Mile a Day, greater mental health support within a school and healthy eating initiatives.
London’s Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has created the post of clinical professor to help nurses develop research skills
‘Undertaking research is an area that we don’t develop during our clinical careers – and that’s to the huge detriment of ourselves and our profession,’ argues the new clinical professor in nursing at London’s Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Fiona Nolan. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
There are about 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, and this is expected to rise to more than one million by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Over the past few months, The King’s Fund has been exploring how eight of these ‘first wave’ ICSs have developed – who has been involved, what leadership and governance arrangements have been put in place, and how the ICSs have been working with national NHS bodies. Of course, one of the most important questions for our research was – what difference are ICSs making to services?
What should chief executives expect from their chair? The relationship is such a pivotal one and yet so complex – the chair is boss, challenger, supporter, colleague, arbiter, mentor and coach. The relationship is critical not just for the board, and the whole organisation, but in growing the great leaders we need and that the public pay for and deserve.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock will set out plans at the NHS Expo in Manchester today to make the NHS an ecosytem for the best technology available. These will build on the £20 billion long-term plan to transform health and social care so it can improve treatment and deliver better care for patients.
A campaign aimed at cutting the huge waste of valuable NHS medicines across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is about to be launched. It has been estimated that around £6million of prescription medicines go unused across the area each year.
A Staffordshire town is to become one of only five areas of the country to test the official NHS app for patients that will be at the forefront of the digital healthcare revolution.
The announcement was made by Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock today at the Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester.
Nurses need training to support children and their parents to manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) following a diagnosis, says the head of an advocacy group. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Healthcare staff to get compulsory prevention training
Nurses in Scotland are to receive mandatory mental health and suicide prevention training as part of plans to reduce the suicide rate by 20%. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
A former army nurse reveals how a holiday charity helped him to cope with grief and work-related trauma
Military nurses, care assistants, medics, doctors and other healthcare professionals are witnesses to a high degree of trauma. We not only see battlefields, peacetime training, traumatic injuries and death, but we have to help the wounded and provide care from the point of contact through to the next level of triage and treatment or aftercare. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
This article explores the stress experience of a military family transitioning to civilian life. Methods included a critical literature review and reflections from the author’s own practice as a community psychiatric nurse working with military personnel, their spouses/partners and children. Increased stress among military families pre, during and post-transition is a potential trigger for the development of mental health problems. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Positive behavioural support (PBS) is a non-aversive, preventive approach to behavioural management. The use of proactive approaches such as PBS has been suggested for multiple contexts and client groups as part of the restraint-reduction, ‘positive-and-safe’ agenda in the UK. PBS was introduced into a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in a south Wales forensic service. However, the approach employed needed to be adapted to improve ‘goodness of fit’ for the PICU setting. This article describes the actions taken in the service to improve the fit of PBS in the PICU. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
This article considers ways of treating the potential distress arising from experiencing auditory hallucinations without the use of pharmacology. A brief discussion of the prevalence of auditory hallucinations is followed by an overview of different perspectives of treating mental illness and the potential need for treatment using non-pharmacological interventions.
To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Public Health England (PHE) brings together and analyses data on mental health conditions from across the health and care system, and produces resources to help improve services and outcomes.
This guidance is written for commissioners, public health professionals and others involved in the local planning and provision of services that support people with mental health conditions. It should support them to use these resources to make or influence decisions about local services.
The Building Health Partnerships programme has been awarded the money from NHS England and the National Lottery – through the Big Lottery Fund.
The funding will provide tailored support for co-production to 10 areas, helping to more easily involve patients and carers in designing the services they use.
It is commonly believed that nature has positive impacts on children’s health, including physical, mental and social dimensions. This review focuses on how accessibility to, exposure to and engagement with nature affects the mental health of children and teenagers. Open Access Article
The networks cover a diverse range of topics, such as exploring the impact of loneliness and social isolation on mental health, improving the life expectancy of people with severe mental ill health and promoting young people's mental health in a digital world. They will bring together experts from different fields from the arts, humanities and sciences to build capacity and lay the foundations for new, multidisciplinary approaches to mental health research.
This bill aims to increase oversight and management of the use of force in relation to people in mental health units and similar institutions and require police officers to wear body cameras when attending mental health units.
Members discussed a range of subjects, including the use of force in mental health units, the situation for young people and children and police response to mental health.
Low social support is consistently associated with postpartum depression. Previous studies do not always control for previous mental health and do not consider what type of support (tangible, emotional, informational or positive social interaction) is most important. The objectives are: to examine if low social support contributes to subsequent risk of depressive or anxiety symptoms and to determine which type of support is most important.
To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2384-2390.
The accurate clinical characterisation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is becoming increasingly important. The aim of this study was to compare the neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive profile of MCI with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB) with Alzheimer's disease MCI (MCI-AD).. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
The Defence Committee takes evidence from witnesses across academia, social policy research and journalism on the current provision of mental health care to serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families in the UK.
The Home Affairs Committee hears from Stephen Shaw on the Government’s progress in implementing his 2016 report recommendations on the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons.
This week we’ve begun introducing a new approach to resolving complaints about nurses and midwives.
Under the new arrangements, where nurses and midwives can show that, despite something going wrong, they have learnt from what happened and are safe to continue working, we may not seek to restrict their practice. To develop a culture of openness and honesty we will provide tailored advice and support to employers, nurses and midwives to enable professionals to learn from their mistakes.
Adults can drop in to their local monthly group, pull up a chair and relax while staff and volunteers read extracts from fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Readings are expertly selected on entertaining and thought-provoking themes, with sessions such as Back to School, Courage, and Whatever the Weather, set to feature in the months ahead.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2329-2336.
Access to transition-related medical interventions (TRMIs) for transgender veterans has been the subject of substantial public interest and debate. To better inform these important conversations, the current study investigated whether undergoing hormone or surgical transition intervention(s) relates to the frequency of recent suicidal ideation (SI) and symptoms of depression in transgender veterans.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2321-2328.
Being bullied by a sibling has been recently identified as a potential risk factor for developing depression and self-harm. It is unknown whether this risk extends to other serious mental health problems such as psychosis. We investigated whether sibling bullying victimization or perpetration in middle childhood was prospectively associated with psychotic disorder in early adulthood.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
On hand with support and advice will be midwives and representatives from a whole host of organisations such as the Family Nurse Partnership, Maternity Voices, Homestart, the Community Directory and Bookstart. Also staffing information stands will be a number of baby-related businesses who will all be contributing to a free goody bag for every family attending the baby shower.
During September and October, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council will be hosting free workshops throughout the county designed by carers themselves, with the aim of helping carers who are feeling overwhelmed and having to juggle caring and other commitments.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2399-2408.
Childhood-onset attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is clinically heterogeneous and commonly presents with different patterns of cognitive deficits. It is unclear if this clinical heterogeneity expresses a dimensional or categorical difference in ADHD.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2353-2363.
Previous studies have linked maternal obesity with depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy. It remains unknown whether obesity associates with consistently elevated depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy, predicts symptoms postpartum when accounting for antenatal symptoms, and if co-morbid hypertensive and diabetic disorders add to these associations. We addressed these questions in a sample of Finnish women whom we followed during and after pregnancy.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
The NHS Future Fit public consultation has now closed.
Thank you to everyone that took the time to respond to the consultation. Please be assured that any freepost surveys that are postmarked up to and including 11 September 2018 will be considered as part of the consultation.
The mugs will be available at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) from next week.
They cost just £4 each and the price includes a free drink. On top of that, every time a customer uses the mug, they will receive a 15% discount on their hot drink.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 48, Iss. 14, (Oct 2018): 2346-2352.
The number of people entering specialist drug treatment for cannabis problems has increased considerably in recent years. The reasons for this are unclear, but rising cannabis potency could be a contributing factor.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.