Mental health campaigners have offered cautious support to a government plan intended to improve mental health services.
Cuts to services have let to what has been described as “dangerously high” bed occupancy rates and waiting times.
Meanwhile, there have also been major problems in the sector with staff retention.
And the Royal College of Nursing has been critical of government proposals, asserting that they appeared “not to add up”.
But the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced... Readmore
Skills for Health, Health Education England and Skills for Care have announced a new Framework to support person-centred approaches for the health and social care workforce.
This approach, outlined in the Five Year Forward View, puts people, families and communities at the heart of health, care and wellbeing.
It encourages people to speak with staff about what is important to them, helping to develop a shared understanding of what matters to them.
The new framework, commissioned by Health... Readmore
Figures released by the General Medical Council indicate that hundreds of doctors were spared the process of being investigated by the organisation following the introduction of provisional enquiries.
Approximately 500 doctors would have been investigated under the old GMC system, according to figures gleaned from the 2015 calendar year.
The statistics were published in a blog post on the GMC website, which suggested that the policy of committing to increasing the use of provisional enquiries... Readmore
A survey of NHS trusts suggests that mental health services are close to being completely overrun.
This is due to escalated demand and a reduction in the level of staffing.
NHS Providers contacted organisations throughout the healthcare system, and found that around 70% of mental health leaders believe that demand will increase still further in the coming 12 months.
Yet only 35% were confident that they would be enough staff available in order to deliver an adequate level of service.
Responding... Readmore
A new bid made by a group of healthcare providers has become the largest in the history of the healthcare system.
This new quote is for an enormous integrated care contract in the Manchester region, which will provide both out of hospital health and care services once agreed.
The Manchester Health and Care Commissioning receivef the bid from the so-called Manchester Provider Board; a consortium which consists of Manchester City Council, local GP federations, the city’s three acute trusts,... Readmore
Mental health campaigners have urged an immediate review into the failure of young people in Scotland to be offered specialist treatment for mental health issues.
This is extremely concerning, particularly as young people are a very high risk group for suicide.
Yet despite this fact, over 7,000 children and adolescents were rejected for mental health referrals during the last 12 months.
The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) described the figure as "astonishing".
Responding... Readmore
A new report suggests that there is a massive gulf between the level of mental health provision and public demand in Northern Ireland.
Mental Health Rights Campaign, which conducted the research, found that general practice is falling short of the standards of care that are expected.
The group is intimately involved in mental health care in Northern Ireland, being comprised of those affected by mental health issues, along with carers and families bereaved from suicide.
Mental Health Rights... Readmore
Senior GPC members have warned that both women and the sessional GPs face unfair barriers to acquiring senior roles within the General Practitioners Committee.
And GPC leaders have essentially concurred with this verdict, conceding that more must be done in order to ensure leadership proportionally represents the profession.
Top women GPs have warned that there is currently an uneven playing field in terms of recruitment, which is illustrated by the composition of the GPC compared with the profession... Readmore
A new contract has been initiated in south London with the aim of revolutionising adult mental health services.
South London commissioners have signed off a £650 million deal over the next 10 years, intended to achieve efficiency savings of approximately 10%.
Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group and Lambeth council will now begin the process of identifying suitable providers.
Those selected will be required to create an alliance, and then coordinate and deliver support and services for those... Readmore
A major merger of the two acute hospitals located in Manchester will save over £100 million by 2021 according to health leaders.
Plans will see Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust, University Hospital of South Manchester FT and North Manchester General Hospital merge.
Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust is responsible for running the organisations, and the trusts suggest that efficiency savings can be made on workforce, back office and estates costs.
While organisational... Readmore
Hourly pay rates across all levels of locum staff in the NHS have risen to new heights, driven by demand and a shortage of temporary staff, according to an authoritative new report.
The findings of Q3 2016/17 came in research by Liaison, the organisation which provides financial and workforce services to more than two thirds of the NHS.
It showed that pay levels in the period were the highest since price caps were introduced to help drive down the total annual cost of temporary staff that totalled... Readmore
Theresa May has indicated the intention of the Conservative party to recruit 10,000 extra NHS staff to work within the mental health service sector.
However, despite this bold plan, the PM has yet to indicate how this boost to mental health will be funded.
In what represents her first spending announcement of the general election campaign, the PM also indicated her intention to overhaul the thirty four year-old Mental Health Act, with the intention of tackling discrimination and overuse of detention.
There... Readmore
