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
Research suggests that mindfulness therapy is just as effective as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for treating conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress.
Furthermore, the treatment can be offered at a preferential rate in comparison to CBT.
This is according to a Swedish study, which found that group mindfulness therapy has an equally positive effect as individual CBT, while being available at a mere fraction of the cost.
Researchers from Lund University believe that group-based... Readmore
Approximately 10% of people leaving hospital following mental health care treatment are not receiving any visitations or follow-up phone calls in the seven days after leaving.
These worrying figures have been compiled by the mental health charity Mind, based on Freedom of Information requests.
Around 11,000 people annually receive no NHS check-ups after leaving hospitals or specialist facilities within the healthcare system, and experts believe that this puts them at a greater risk of suicide.
Sophie... Readmore
Seven areas across England are set to pilot digital services for mental health patients, which will include innovative apps to improve care and online access to real-time patient records.
NHS England has announced new funding for seven mental health trusts to enable these organisations to pioneer world-class, digital services to improve care for patients experiencing mental health issues.
This will include, for the first time, all key professionals involved in a patient’s care having access... Readmore
NICE leaders have suggested that GPs should review the mental health of those with learning disabilities during their annual health checkups.
This new quality standard introduced by NICE is intended to ensure that the NHS standardises guidance.
And the Healthcare authority recommends that GPs working within the NHS system should “conduct annual health checks in their patients with learning disabilities that include reviews of mental health problems”.
The new standard also requires clinical... Readmore
Official figures indicate that there has been a significant escalation in the number of patients arriving at Accident and Emergency departments in England with mental health difficulties.
Experts believe that a lack of early support for such individuals means that the level of patients within the healthcare system suffering from mental health problems has reached a crisis level.
Data compiled by NHS Digital indicated that between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E... Readmore
A survey of psychiatrists has suggested that NHS services are failing the soaring numbers of children who have had a breakdown, self-harmed or attempted to commit suicide.
72% of consultant psychiatrists who specialise in treating children and adolescents say that NHS care for under-18s experiencing a crisis in their mental health is either inadequate (58%) or very inadequate (14%).
And only 9% of those who responded concluded that these services are currently good.
253 of the UK’s 750 consultant... Readmore
The NHS is set to overhaul services for women who develop mental health problems around childbirth.
This initiative is intended to help reduce the suffering caused by postnatal depression and reduce the number of new mothers who kill either themselves or their baby.
NHS England has indicated its decision to invest £40 million into new specialist treatment centres for the 20% of women whose pregnancy, birth or experience afterwards triggers serious psychological problems.
Anxiety, depression... Readmore
The future of community health services in Liverpool remains in limbo following a decision to postpone a decision on the subject.
A leaked email emanating from healthcare bosses in the city indicated that plans could put approximately 300 jobs in the Liverpool health system at risk.
NHS bosses were due to award a controversial new contract for community services – including walk-in centres, district nursing and health visitors – at the end of this month.
But health chiefs have instead... Readmore
One of the leading British experts on mental health believes that the UK is heading for a tsunami of adult mental health difficulties.
Prof Dame Sue Bailey, chair of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, believes that urgent action must be taken to assist children in contemporary society if a crisis is to be avoided.
Central to this process must be extensive spending from the government on mental health services, according to Bailey.
“I describe mental health services... Readmore
Face-down physical restraint is still being used in mental health wards in England, despite the government and NHS indicating that the practice should be frowned upon.
The usage of the practice is considered particularly dangerous as it can restrict the breathing of a patient.
Yet despite new guidelines indicating that face-down restraint should be phased out, the incidence of it occurring in the mental health system dropped only slightly over the last two years.
In 2013-14, 22.4% of recorded... Readmore
The level of investment by the government in mental health services for children has been seriously criticised after some damning statistics regarding young people in England emerged.
According to a review of the mental health services conducted by the Children's Commissioner, over one-quarter of young people who were referred for support in England last year were ultimately sent away without receiving any form of help.
Those sent away without assistance even included some individuals who have... Readmore
