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In this month's edition...
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NHS to invest in mental health services
NHS England has this week pledged to help more than a million extra people and invest more than a billion pounds a year by 2020/21, in response to findings by an independent taskforce, whose report highlighted that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is £105bn a year. Download the report here
Mental health services for veterans
Do you provide mental health services for veterans? NHS England are looking for responses from charities or support groups for veterans who have or have had mental health problems to help build on the strengths of mental health services with veterans and develop future services [deadline 5pm 31st March]. Fill out the survey here
Harmful drinking and alcohol dependence
PHE’s third edition of Health Matters outlines effective ways for local authorities, the NHS and other providers of alcohol of services to invest in treatments that tackle harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. PHE are looking for organisations to make the case for more effective alcohol treatments in their local areas, and have provided a new suite of Health Matters infographics as a reference point here. Download the full report here
Supporting people with mental health problems
Mind’s new ‘Life Support’ campaign asks what support people with mental health problems need in their home and communities to help them stay well and live a full life. To get things started, they’re asking people to send a ‘postcard’ from a place that’s important to them in their local area, to get them talking about the themes of the campaign - home, community, place, support, friends and family. You can also search for postcards sent from near you, to find out what places others value. Find out more and make a postcard
Extending charges for overseas visitors and migrants on NHS services
The Race Equality Foundation has produced a briefing on the Department of Health’s consultation on extending charging for healthcare into primary care, and all NHS-commissioned care for some types of visitors and migrants. The DH intends to analyse the results of the consultation and work with stakeholders 'to develop and publish an Implementation Plan for 2016-18', so changes can hopefully be implemented from January 2017. Read the briefing here and give a response
How NHS hospitals can save money and improve care
Lord Carter has published his review into operational efficiency in English NHS hospitals. The report recommends that hospitals standardise procedures, become more transparent and work more closely with neighbouring NHS trusts, in moves that he hopes will end variations in quality of care and finances to save the NHS billions. As part of the review, a ‘model hospital’ has been developed which will advise NHS trusts on the most efficient allocation of resources and allows hospitals to measure performance against other trusts. Read more here
The Care Act one year on
Carers Trust is holding a commission to find out how the new provisions in the Care Act are working for carers, one year on. They would like evidence from a carer’s perspective of how the Care Act is working for carers, explain what’s working and what’s not [deadline 18th March]. If you work with service users or family members who are caring for another person, please encourage them to respond. Find out more information about the project and respond to the survey here
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Involving patients and service users - network event
If you’re responsible for service user involvement at your organisation, Clinks are hosting two specialist networking events that will give you the chance to share your experiences and expertise with other Clinks members [7th March, York; 16th March, Bristol; free]. Discuss what is needed to embed effective service user involvement across the Criminal Justice System. You will also hear from voluntary sector organisations leading the way in best practice involving patients and their families and in the design of services. Read more and book here
Demonstrating value in mental health services
Webinar [Tuesday 1st March, 14.00 – 15.30, free] for voluntary sector organisations to explore how to demonstrate the value of services working with people with mental health problems in the Criminal Justice System. The voluntary sector is often asked to demonstrate the added value it brings in engaging under-served communities, but this can be difficult to quantify. This can be further complicated when working with people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, when data is often not triangulated with that on mental health and other vulnerabilities. Delivered by members of the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme, the webinar will use current case studies to discuss the challenges of evaluation, explore alternative methods for demonstrating value, and identify the data required to build an effective case to demonstrate to the value the voluntary sector brings. Sign up for the webinar here
Consultation on voluntary sector 'single point of contact' for health commissioners
Members of the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partners (SP) are running two consultation events [9th March, London; 16th March, Sheffield; free] on providing a single point of contact for the voluntary sector to improve joint working with health commissioners and providers in a local area. Learning from recent work on systems resilience has suggested that the diverse nature of the voluntary sector can hinder planning and commissioning approaches, and identifying a single point of contact is a key element of effective working relationships. This could be a single organisation, or a consortium with a lead partner to provide the day-to-day liaison point; and could be fulfilled by a wide variety of organisations. Attendees at the events will discuss recommendations to the health sector, including a set of criteria and principles for working with a single point of contact. Register your interest here
Partnerships between CCGs and the voluntary sector
Voscur are hosting an event on building relationships between CCGs and the voluntary sector for voluntary organisations in the West of England [3rd March, Bristol, free]. Voscur, in partnership with Compact Voice/NCVO and the West of England Civil Society Partnership, is working across the West of England to support compact developments and partnerships . To attend the event click here
Addressing Tuberculosis in Health and Justice Settings
PHE are hosting an event about the treatment and understanding of the distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in undeserving populations in a Health and Justice setting [24th March, London, free]. The event will discuss good practice surrounding TB and criminal justice and how to better identify and manage TB in a secure setting. Book onto the event here
Offenders with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
The National Autistic Society are hosting a conference for services providing care for offenders with learning and other developmental disabilities in the Criminal Justice System [19th April, Manchester, from £195 + VAT]. The conference will feature an overview of forensic learning disability and developmental disability services from an international perspective and benchmarking in these settings and provision of up-to-date information on legal aspects and complex needs. For more information and to register click here
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Overrepresentation of people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system
The Ideas Collective have published ‘Keeping out of trouble’, a paper on potential alternatives to prison or hospital for people regularly in contact with the Criminal Justice System. The paper gives examples of good practice and sets out ideas for systematic improvement of support for people with learning disabilities. Download the paper here
Effective care of childbearing women and their babies in prison
Barnardo’s have published a paper making recommendations for policy regarding Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) using questionnaires with prisoners, interviews with practitioners and a literature review. Their recommendations cover a range of processes that contribute to MBU services, including sentencing practices, the information provided to and the needs of childbearing women, and the potential Transforming Rehabilitation reforms have for this group. Read the full report here
Prevention and early diagnosis by Clinical Commissioning Groups
This report, published by NHS Clinical Commissioners, highlights examples of Clinical Commissioning Groups putting in place prevention and early diagnoses programmes by making partnerships across their local health economies. This includes early diagnoses of HIV, cancer awareness, diabetes prevention, stroke prevention and COPD management. Read the full report here
Preventing heroin overdoses for people recently released from prison
This new piece of research looks into the difficulties of 'take-home' naloxone, an opioid antagonist used to counteract an overdose of an opioid drug such as heroin, for people recently released from prison as a way of reducing the risk of overdose. The paper, titled 'Stakeholder perceptions and operational barriers in the training and distribution of take-home naloxone within prisons in England', identifies four main barriers to using take home naloxone, including perceptions of what THN actually is, practical problems in its effective distribution, and the need for senior prison staff engagement. Read and download the report here.
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Grants for projects designed to promote heart health
Heart Research UK are offering grants of up to £5,000 for established heart health programmes and up to £10,000 to support new and innovative projects that promote heart health and the prevention of the risks of heart disease. These projects must focus on and actively promote heart health for the duration of the project. Community and voluntary organisations, registered charities and other not-for-profit organisations in the UK are eligible to apply [deadline 30th March 2016]. More information on the grants
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Opportunity for young people in the south to join a young leadership programme
If you involve the young people you work with in designing or improving your services, this could be a good opportunity for progression for them. Leading Together is a new piece of work taking place across the NHS in the South of England that is seeking young people (aged 18+) to become patient leaders. This will involve the young person partnering with a doctor, nurse, other healthcare professional or non-clinician with whom they’ll attend workshops and explore and develop your leadership skills. For more information, or to apply email leadingtogether@oxfordahsn.org
New dementia data tool
Public Health England’s National Dementia Intelligence Network has published a new Dementia Profile tool, making transparent and bespoke data comparisons between local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups in England available in one, interactive online platform. The tool aims to help commissioners meet objectives in the NHS planning guidance by making information more readily available in order to identify where variations exist, and ultimately change the way dementia and dementia services look across the country. Read more
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Mental health problems in prisons
'Mental health in prisons: Let's stop and think' is a blog by the Mental Health Foundation highlighting the needs of people with mental health problems in prisons. The Prison Ombudsman's recent report on mental health services in prison identified many areas which need improvement. The blog suggests that alternative pathways of care for people with mental health problems in the Criminal Justice System need to be found, and identifies inappropriate training of staff and inadequate mental health treatment as some of the main difficulties in addressing this situation. Read the blog here
Stepping up support to vulnerable families
The National Children's Bureau question why we are still having to make the case for early intervention to support vulnerable families in this recent blog. They say; "Increasing numbers of children are being removed from their families, and these families are often those affected by parental substance misuse (including alcohol misuse) or by parental mental health problems ... Many parents in these circumstances will want to do the best for their children and, with support, will look after them well." Read the blog 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 2,880 subscribers.
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Designed, composed and circulated by Ben Watson, Clinks.