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In this month's edition...
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Improving health outcomes for women offenders
Clinks’ latest survey aims to help us map voluntary sector health and care services for women in the Criminal Justice System. We’ll use the findings to highlight and share good practice, identify any gaps in service provision and inform health and justice commissioners to address them; so if you provide gender-specific health services to women offenders, we’d love to hear what you do. The survey closes on Friday 19th December and takes just a few minutes to complete. As a thank you, everyone responding will receive a free copy of Clinks’ recent report ‘Who Cares? Where next for women offender services?’ The survey is run in partnership with Action for Prisoners and Offenders Families and the Women's Health Equality Consortium. Please fill out the survey here
Voluntary sector engagement with health and care
Clinks and the Health and Care Strategic Partners have launched a survey of charities and voluntary organisations to find out more about how they are engaging with health and care partners. The survey aims to find out how the people that the sector supports are represented on different local health structures, and in the development of local health and social care priorities. The survey’s findings will be used to lobby key decision makers and funders; by taking part you will be helping make sure that funders and decision makers know more about your needs. The survey has 20 questions and can be completed in 15 minutes. Please share the survey on Twitter with the hashtag #biggestcharitysurvey. Complete the survey here
Taskforce announced to improve mental health care
90% of prisoners have at least one mental health disorder, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence. Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, has announced a new Mental Health Taskforce and part of the government's mental health strategy. It will examine: how we can improve mental health services for young people; welfare and employment issues and helping people back into work; and how we can improve crisis care and prevent the large numbers of people with severe mental health problems ending up in police cells and prisons. Find out who is part of the taskforce here
Men's health service launched
The Men's Health Forum have launched 'The Man MOT', which enables men to contact an NHS GP or other expert using a mobile, tablet or laptop, anywhere in England 24/7. Two types of contact are offered: live text chat with a health professional on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (7-10pm) and a full email service at all other times. On Wednesdays the text chat is on a specific topic with an expert (topic changes each month). Find out more here
More mental health professionals in police stations
Thirteen additional areas have been announced to trial Liaison and Diversion schemes to place mental health professionals in police stations and courts from April 2015. These schemes aim to ensure people who come into the Criminal Justice System with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and other vulnerabilities are recognised and are promptly referred into health and other services to get the treatment or support they need. Andrew Selous, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation said: “Identifying and addressing mental health needs for offenders is a vital part of our wider efforts to reduce reoffending. Our aim is to ensure that any offender who needs it can have mental health treatment equivalent to the best they would receive in the community.” More information, including the list of areas trialling the scheme, can be found here
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Making integration and personalisation a reality
Making health and social care support truly personal continues to be an aspiration and a challenge for the NHS and other health partners. ‘Making personalisation and integration a reality’ is a Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme event [24th February, London, free] which will seek to understand what progress has been made on this agenda, and examine how barriers have been addressed to deliver greater choice and control. Clinks will be running a workshop on implementing personalisation in the Criminal Justice System. Find out more and register your interest here
Improving the health of BAME communities
'Better health and social care for black and minority ethnic communities' is a Race Equality Foundation event [15th January, Bristol, free] that aims to provide you with information about the changes happening in health and social care. The event will cover: how the NHS will be changing over the next five years and what it means for you; plans to tackle racial discrimination in the NHS workforce; health charging of migrants and how it will affect your clients; an overview of personal health budgets; and the new Dementia Toolkit. Find out more and book your place here
Training to understand health and care
'Understanding the Health and Social Care Environment' is a flexible online training course from Engage for Change for people interested in understanding the health and social care environment and / or with responsibility for improving health. The course will cover: who the key stakeholders are in the new health and social care environment and their relationship to each other; how you can influence these stakeholders and where you fit in the bigger picture; and choosing and testing appropriate tools and methods to influence health and social care. The course is free to voluntary sector organisations with an annual turnover of less than £500,000. The next course starts on 19th January. Find out more here
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CCG funding for the voluntary sector
Heywood, Middleton, and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group are offering local health grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 to voluntary sector organisations for projects of up to 12 months. Projects must demonstrate health and community benefits in areas including: reducing social isolation, particularly for older people and vulnerable young men; promoting prevention and early intervention for mental health conditions; supporting carers; and supporting people with complex needs, enabling them to build better lives. The deadline for applications is 22nd December. Find out more and apply here
Empowering people and communities
NHS England will award £500,000 to a charity or non-profit organisation to identify evidence-based approaches to self-care. The Realising the Value programme will fund an organisation or consortium to undertake a new programme of work to help strengthen the case for change, identify a set of evidence-based approaches and develop tools to support their wider implementation across the NHS and local communities; to empower people and communities to take more control of their health. The deadline for applications is 9th January. More information is available here
Reducing health inequalities through sport
Sport England's Get Healthy, Get Active fund is now open to applications. £5 million will be invested into projects that successfully get inactive people aged 14 and above into weekly physical activity or sport participation. The fund aims to: get more inactive people playing sport once a week for at least 30 minutes; achieve a better understanding of sports contribution to improving public health and the prevention, treatment and management of long term conditions; enable sport and physical activity to be regularly commissioned to meet a wider range of agendas but particularly focusing on reducing health and social care costs; and achieve a reduction in health inequalities. The deadline for applications is 26th January. Find out more and apply here
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Campaigning for better health outcomes for homeless people
'Homeless Health Matters: the case for change' is a St. Mungo's Broadway report aimed at Health and Wellbeing Boards and their constituent members. It demonstrates how health and housing services can be better designed to meet the health needs of homeless people, and accompanies their campaign to influence health care planning for homeless people through asking supporters to write to their Health and Wellbeing Boards, asking them to sign the Charter on Homeless Health. To support the campaign click here, and to download the report click here
Supporting people with learning disabilities
NHS England have published 'Winterbourne View - Time for Change', an independent report into the future of care for people with learning disabilities. The report makes a number of recommendations including: the introduction of a Charter of Rights for people with learning disabilities and/or autism and their families; giving people with learning disabilities and their families a ‘right to challenge’ decisions and the right to request a personal budget; and a planned closure programme of inappropriate institutional in-patient facilities supporting patient choice. Read the report here
Drug recovery rates showing signs of slowing
Public Health England's report 'Drug treatment in England 2013 to 2014' shows that the number of adults starting treatment for heroin or crack cocaine increased slightly 45,739 in 2012 to 2013, to 46,001 in 2013 to 2014; the first increase in 6 years. The number of people starting treatment for cannabis also increased. The total number of people in treatment, and the total number of people completing their treatment programme in 2013 to 2014 was roughly the same as the previous period. Find out more and download the report here
BAME people with mental ill health in criminal justice
'Prevalence, patterns and possibilities' is a NACRO paper that sets the context for exploring solutions which address the different experiences people from black and minority ethnic communities with mental health problems in contact with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) face. The paper highlights statistics showing the inequality that this group faces in the CJS, and discusses the critical issues to address, whilst pointing to related evidence. Download the paper here
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About Clinks Offender Health 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 2,358 subscribers.
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Designed, composed and circulated by Ben Watson, Clinks.