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In this month's edition...
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Older people with convictions
Are you a voluntary organisation working with people with convictions aged over 50? If yes, we’d like to hear your experiences and views. Clinks is carrying out a rapid research project to get a snapshot of current voluntary sector work with or for older people in the criminal justice system, aiming to identify priorities and ideas for future developments. The findings will be published in June 2018. The researcher is Tim Robertson (formerly of the Koestler Trust). To contribute or find out more, please contact Hazel Alcraft, Clinks’ Development Officer for Health and Justice via hazel.alcraft@clinks.org
Autism and learning
Health Education England and Skills for Health have launched a short survey on the Learning Disability and Autism workforce. The results will be used to support Transforming Care Partnerships in developing the Learning Disability and Autism workforce across England. The deadline for submission is the 29th March. Find out more here
Independent Review of the Mental Health Act
The Independent Review team have extended the deadline for their survey of service users and carers to 6th April. The review was set up to look at how the legislation in the Mental Health Act 1983 is used and how practice can improve. They would like to hear from anyone who is, or has been, sectioned under the Mental Health Act, or caring for a person who has been sectioned. The survey is now available in Easy Read and British Sign Language formats. Find out more here
Experience of Care week
NHS England is supporting Experience of Care Week 2018 [23rd –27th April], an international initiative to celebrate work across health and social care to keep improving experiences of care for patients, families, carers and staff. In this NHS 70th Birthday year, Experience of Care Week is an opportunity to highlight how you are making a difference to improve experiences of health and care, with and for patients and families. Get involved on social media, through webinars, or by holding a local event. Find out more here
Suicide prevention
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released draft guidelines on preventing suicide in community and custodial settings, looking at methods of reducing death by suicide, and offering help to those affected by suicide. The NICE guidelines recommend institutions develop a suicide prevention strategy led by key stakeholders in each institution, and that the action plans they develop are shared locally and audited regularly. Importantly, these plans focus on raising awareness among prison populations that suicide is preventable, that it is safe to talk about suicide, and that many kinds of support are available. Furthermore, after a suspected suicide, a rapid deployment of resources should offer support to those affected, deal with media reporting, and focus on preventing so-called suicide clusters. The guidelines are open for consultation until 12th April. Find out more here
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Women with multiple needs
Homeless Link, Shelter and Women's Resource Centre are holding 'Spotlight on supporting women with multiple needs' [28th March, London, free]. This event is for London borough officers, front-line staff and service managers working in London-based homelessness and women's services. The event aims to identify barriers and solutions to the homelessness and women's sectors working together and highlight good practice. Find out more here Offenders with intellectual or developmental disability The National Autistic Society are holding the 17th International Conference on Offenders with a Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability [11th & 12th April, Birmingham, from £120]. Do you work with offenders with an intellectual and / or developmental disability, including autism? If so, join the National Autistic Society at this two-day conference to discover the latest thinking from international speakers, and learn from smaller scale research and innovations in the concurrent sessions. The conference also offers unparalleled networking opportunities for delegates from the UK and overseas. Find out more and book here Increasing the use of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements The Academy for Social Justice Commissioning is holding an evening seminar [26th April, Manchester, free] on increasing the use of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements. The Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Programme has been developed in partnership between the Department of Health, Ministry of Justice, NHS England and Public Health England to explore why treatment requirements are underused at the point of sentence compared to other community requirements. In this free seminar the programme managers will give an overview of the programme and share some initial thoughts around increasing the use of these treatment requirements. Find out more and book here Improving Health through Innovations The Queen's Nursing Institute are hosting a free learning and networking day [Friday 27th April, Bristol, free]. The event will bring together nurses and other professionals working in the housing, care and homelessness sectors. It features key presentations from speakers with expert knowledge, and time to discuss how innovations can improve healthcare for vulnerable groups. Find out more and book your place here[[{"fid":"1992","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Publications","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Publications"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Publications","title":"Publications","height":"40","width":"650","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Organ donation Clinks has responded to the NHS Consultation on introducing ‘opt-out’ consent for organ and tissue donation in England. The government plans to change the existing organ donation system to an 'opt-out' system. Under the current system, people who want to donate their organs ‘opt in’ or agree to donate after their death by signing up as a donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Under the proposed system, unless a patient had filled in a form to opt out, they would be automatically assumed to have consented. Our response to this consultation focuses on the potential impact of the proposed changes on people in the criminal justice system and their families, and has been informed by feedback collected from Clinks members. Read our response here The health of women in prison Public Health England (PHE) has published Gender Specific Standards highlighting the need for a system approach to improve the health and wellbeing of women in prison in England. Implementation of these standards is a shared objective for HM Prisons and Probation Service, NHS England and PHE. PHE is aware that the standards are not currently all being met and will not all be achieved overnight. However, they will inform a programme of work which aims to improve quality of services and outcomes for women in prison. Read more and access the standards here Recovery and families Adfam and Sheffield Hallam University has published a study entitled ‘Understanding recovery from a family perspective: a survey of life in recovery for families.’ The report is a large scale study into the impact of recovery from drug and alcohol dependence on family members. This report highlights the toll that addiction exerts not only on individual drinkers but on those around them, and it establishes the importance of recovery in mitigating some of these adverse effects. One finding was that 3.4% of respondents served prison time while their family member was in active use, compared to 1.2% when they were in recovery. Find out more here Mental Health Act In response to the call for evidence by the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, the Centre for Mental Health, Prison Reform Trust and Together for Mental Wellbeing held a roundtable to discuss criminal justice concerns and priorities for reform in relation to the Act. A paper was created from this meeting as a starting point for discussion. Points raised include: the Act should make clear that prison is not a place of safety and should not be used while a hospital bed is found; the impact of prison on a person’s mental health should be recognised; and specific sentencing options should be developed for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Read the paper here Invisible addicts The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a report entitled 'Our Invisible Addicts'. The report looks into the extent of substance-related health problems amongst older people and the specialist services needed to deal with the complexity of such problems, which often involve “co-morbid mental and physical health problems, polypharmacy and psychosocial adversity”. The report sets out a number of key public health messages about substance misuse in older people, and key recommendations including the need to improve access to and the availability of services; and to improve collaboration, communication and cooperation between health and social care professional teams, families and carers at all stages of treatment and recovery. Find out more here From prison to community The Health and Justice Journal has published an open access report entitled 'Systematic review of qualitative evaluations of re-entry programs addressing problematic drug use and mental health disorders amongst people transitioning from prison to communities'. The paper presents a systematic review of findings from qualitative evaluations of community re-entry programs. The programs sought to engage recently released adult prisoners with either problematic drug use or a mental health disorder. It finds that strong support from case workers; access to social support and housing; and continuity of case worker relationships throughout the pre-release and post-release period are key to rehabilitation and desistance. Find out more here[[{"fid":"1988","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Funding","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Funding"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Funding","title":"Funding","height":"40","width":"650","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Innovation grants HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) has launched the Innovation grant funding programme for 2018-2020. The programme aims to enable the voluntary sector to contribute to better outcomes for people in Public Sector Prisons, the National Probation Service and Youth Custody Services. Under this grant programme, funding will be available for seven individual grant schemes, including improving the health and well-being of people with convictions. The deadline for applications is 9th April. Providers are required to register and log in to the Bravo Portal. Once you have logged into the Bravo Portal, you will find the competitions along with all documentation on the grants and how to submit proposals under the tab “ITT’s Open to all Suppliers”. Sign up to the portal here Unpaid carers and the criminal justice system The Triangle Trust provides funding through its Development Grants programme twice a year to registered charities, not-for-profit social enterprises and community interest companies in the UK whose primary purpose is to support unpaid carers (spring round) and the rehabilitation of prisoners or ex-prisoners (autumn round). Grants are available for up to £80,000 over three years with a maximum of £35,000 in year one. The deadline for applications to the spring round is 3rd May. Find out more here [[{"fid":"1991","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Resources","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Resources"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Resources","title":"Resources","height":"40","width":"650","style":"font-size: 0.923em;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]Inclusion health The Faculty of Homeless and Inclusion Health has launched their revised inclusion health standards for commissioners and service providers. It includes a section on the police and the criminal justice system. It draws upon the latest evidence of best practice and provides quality assurance for supporting vulnerable and excluded patients with multiple and complex needs, commonly referred to as inclusion health patients. Find out more here Mental health in the criminal justice system The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published updated guidance on the mental health of adults in contact with the criminal justice system. The guideline covers assessing, diagnosing and managing mental health problems in adults (aged 18 and over) who are in contact with the criminal justice system. It aims to improve mental health and wellbeing in this population by establishing principles for assessment and management, and promoting more coordinated care planning and service organisation across the criminal justice system. Find out more here Young people’s mental health
Young Minds has published the Addressing Adversity Book to raise awareness about the impact of adversity and trauma on the mental health of young people. The free e-book contains evidence, insight and case studies from leading experts, clinicians, commissioners and frontline professionals, on what kind of childhood experiences can cause trauma, how common they are, and how they impact on the lives of young people. It aims to support commissioners, providers and practitioners to prioritise adversity and trauma-informed care across England. Download the book here
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Social determinants of TB The Race Equality Foundation have published a guest blog by Dr Jessica Potter and Dr Adrienne Milner to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on 24th March. Drs Potter and Milner discuss the social determinants of TB, and the impact of recent policy changes on the spread and control of TB in the UK, especially among vulnerable migrants. They write ‘While the national TB strategy has laudable goals, its implementation is being challenged by anti-immigrant government policies that construct ‘adverse conditions of care’ for migrant TB patients in the UK.’ Read the blog here Substance misuse treatment Alison Hill from Collective Voice has published a short blog demonstrating an infographic which sets out six key challenges facing the substance misuse treatment sector. She writes ' Drug and alcohol problems rarely sit in isolation; all too often they are tied up with an array of complex issues such as mental health, unemployment, homelessness, domestic violence and social deprivation. In the midst of all this, the drug and alcohol treatment system is under increasing strain and is facing a cocktail of different challenges.' Collective Voice is a group of eight voluntary sector organisations: Addaction, Blenheim, Change, grow, live, Changing Lives, Cranstoun, DISC, Phoenix Futures and Turning Point. Read the blog here[[{"fid":"1990","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Extra Info","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Extra Info"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Extra Info","title":"Extra Info","height":"40","width":"650","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
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About Clinks Health and Justice Bulletin
This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary sector organisations involved in the health and care of offenders. It currently has 3,048 subscribers.
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