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In this week's edition...
Review of the Mental Health Act
The Department of Health and Social Care has published the interim report of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act. The Review was set up to look at how the legislation in the Mental Health Act 1983 is used and how practice can improve. The interim report gives an update on the review’s findings and the areas it will look at next, including a section on the criminal justice system. The Review will examine the issues as set out in the report before making its final recommendations. Download the report here
Suspects and defendants with learning disabilities
Research from NHS England on identifying and supporting suspects and defendants with learning disabilities has been published. People with learning disabilities in the youth or criminal justice systems are made more vulnerable by their situation and the setting and typically require additional help to navigate the system. The central NHS Liaison and Diversion programme team investigated how services are identifying people with learning disabilities, as some services are identifying lower than expected numbers. Several potential barriers to optimal rates of identification were uncovered and will be shared with commissioners. Find out more here
Peer support film
The NHS Youth Forum has produced a film to highlight the importance of peer support to young people with health issues. The film was developed based on comments from young people across the country who talked about the difference peer support has made to them. The Youth Forum hopes that it will encourage the development of new peer support services and more young people to use them as a source of help and encouragement. View the film here
Joint VCSE Review action plan
The Joint VCSE Review has published a new action plan to enable voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to work with the NHS to co-design and co-deliver health and care services with local people. The action plan highlights three areas for the government, its partners and voluntary organisations to work together to: define and measure wellbeing, building on existing work to embed it as a core outcome for both health and social care systems; co-design health, care and public health systems with local people; and develop and test new models which enable commissioners to invest in and reward the successful creation of wellbeing and resilience. Read the action plan here
What do health commissioners think of the voluntary sector?
Join The Kings Fund, the Health and Wellbeing Alliance and NHS England at a webinar on [23rd May, 1-2pm, online, free] to hear and discuss the findings of The King’s Fund recently produced report on Commissioner Perspectives on Working with the Voluntary Sector. The report highlighted a number of key issues for the both commissioners and the voluntary sector. Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice will share their co-produced work on improving end of life care in the city. For the link to join this webinar, please e-mail england.voluntarypartnerships@nhs.net with ‘Kings Fund Report’ in the subject header.
Inclusion health
The Health and Wellbeing Alliance is hosting a webinar on 'Inclusion Health- How does your organisation measure up and what can you do about it?' [29th May, 11am – 12pm, online, free]. The webinar will be hosted by Sarah Sweeney and Zoe Matthews of Friends Families and Travellers, Caroline Bernard of Homeless Link and Ravi Jaipaul from Public Health England. The concept of Inclusion Health is founded on the understanding that not all people have access to the highest levels of healthcare. As a result, a number of socially excluded groups in the UK experience poor health outcomes across a range of indicators including self-reported health, life expectancy and morbidity. To register for this event please email: england.voluntarypartnerships@nhs.net
Good care for mental and physical health
The Care Quality Commission is holding a roundtable entitled 'What does good care look like for people with mental health conditions accessing physical healthcare services?' [18th June, London, free]. The Commission wants hear your input to inform a planned report on the quality of mental healthcare provided in secondary physical healthcare settings. To reserve a place email Natalie.Edwards@cqc.org.uk
Health at the margins
The Queens Nursing Institute is holding 'Health at the margins' [5th July, London, free]. The event will bring together nursing students, educators, researchers and practitioners in homeless healthcare to learn and share ideas. Speakers will share their practical experiences when developing ground-breaking homeless health projects and highlight what they’ve learned along the way. The day aims to educate, inspire, and connect people with a passion for improving healthcare for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Book your place here
Equality and diversity in service user involvement
The next Clinks’ Service User Involvement Managers Network event [12th July, Bristol, £25 member only] will explore how we can involve a diverse range of people with lived experience and ensure we hear from many different voices. What are the barriers to engagement for different groups, and how can diversity in participation support equality and diversity in your organisation? We will hear from organisations and people with lived experience who have sought to tackle these issues, including our partners the IF group, as well as having plenty of opportunity to ask questions and discuss these themes together. Find out more and book here
Health and care
The NHS is holding its annual Health and Care Innovation Expo [5th and 6th September, Manchester, from £125]. The Expo is designed to be a celebration of innovation, enterprise and collaboration. This year, Expo will be part of the NHS celebrations of its 70th anniversary. Find out more and book here
Alcohol treatment services in crisis
Alcohol Concern has published research on 'Addressing the crisis in alcohol treatment services'. This research, launched at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm, warns that the alcohol treatment sector is in crisis. These services are entering into a cycle of disinvestment, staff depletion, and reduced capacity, and this is likely to get worse. In 2020 ring-fenced public health funding will end, posing additional risk to the areas of highest need. Read the report here
Preventing suicide in custody
Clinks has published a response to the consultation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on its draft guidance on preventing suicide in community and custodial or detention settings. Our response is informed by previous work by the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group to the Ministry of Justice on effective care and support for people at risk of suicide and self-harm in prison. Read the response here
Inquest report on women’s deaths in prisons
Inquest has published 'Still Dying on the Inside: Examining Deaths in Women’s Prisons'. 94 women have died in prison since the 2007 publication of Baroness Corston’s ground-breaking review of women in the criminal justice system. The report concludes there has been a lack of action from successive governments and puts forward recommendations to redirect resources from criminal justice to community-based services and close women’s prisons. Download the report here.
Mental health needs of women in prison
The British Journal of Psychiatry has published a paper entitled 'Challenges and mental health needs of women in prison', written by Professor Annie Bartlett, Reader in Forensic Psychiatry, St Georges University, London and Sheila Hollins, Professor of the Psychiatry of Learning Disability at St Georges University, London. The world population of women and girls in prison is increasing. Evidence points to high rates of mental health problems. Approaches to these problems vary and include both psychiatric epidemiology and gender-sensitive understanding and intervention. Prison environments and women prisoners' needs are complex and demand gender-aware care in view of women's vulnerability and histories of trauma. Find out more here
Critical time intervention
'The Impact of the Critical Time Intervention for People with Severe Mental Illness in the Transition from Prison to the Community' is a paper from Dr Gareth Daniel Hopkin of Kings College London. There are high rates of mental health problems among prisoners and the prevalence of severe mental illness in prison is far higher than in the community. Although mental health services have become well established within prisons in England and Wales, the transition from prison to the community presents difficulties for the provision of care and there are negative outcomes during this period. Read the paper here
Amelioration of social exclusion
Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are available from the Woodward Charitable Trust for activity focussed on the amelioration and raising awareness of social exclusion. One of the areas the Trust is interested in is prisoners and people with convictions; projects that help the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners and/or former prisoners are supported as well as projects to help prisoners’ families. The grants are for one-off projects but they are also willing to consider funding running costs, including core cost and salaries. The deadline for applications is 31st July for consideration in October 2018. Find out more and apply here
Health and care rights
Mind has published health and social care rights guidance for people with mental health needs. It includes information on eligibility, needs assessments, financial assessments, and how local authorities may meet people's needs. The guide covers health and social care from the point of view of a person with a mental health problem. Find out more here
Prisoners and risk of injury after release
This Lancet article from Wayne Hall and Michael Farrell on 'Prisoners and risk of injury after release' discusses how an increasingly disproportionate number of people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders contribute to the prison population in high income countries. The article states: “In self-interested times of austerity, appeals to improve health services for the good of prisoners will fall on deaf ears. We need to show that improved treatment of mental and substance use disorders in prison and after release will benefit the community by reducing the costs of medical care and the egregiously high rates of reincarceration.” Read the blog here
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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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