Slam Dunk: New System Improves Patient Engagement

Compared to physical health and wellness services, those of mental health suffer an institutional disadvantage. Even as we become more and more interested in mental well-being, this hasn’t been reflected in the attention given by the media and, when mental health does grace the headlines, it is often for the wrong reasons. Therefore, with all this in mind, there is still work to be done to engage with the public and improve patient care in mental health.

 

Patient engagement has been high on the agenda since the Mid Staffs scandal, as the negligence may have been spotted earlier had the health professionals involved listened to patients’ concerns. However, while this certainly is the case, Dr Ray Johannsen-Chapman, the strategic lead for patient and public involvement at South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust (Slam), asserts that the patient voice can be much more than a safety barometer. According to Johannsen-Chapman, “At South London and Maudsley foundation trust (Slam), we provide the widest range of NHS mental health and substance misuse services in the UK, and believe that everyone who uses our services has a valuable contribution to make to service development and training.”

 

Slam has recently asked Fr3dom Health to design a single system to serve all teams and patients, which will collect and manage patient experience data. This data will then be fed into teams to help improve their services, as well as providing a quality measure for the trust and commissioners (both local CCGs and specialist commissioners) and informing the design of care pathways. Johannsen-Chapman commented, “The patient experience data information centre (Pedic) distilled our existing surveys into core and non-core content, producing a standard structure that teams could build upon to meet their specific needs.”

 

Now, instead of filling out out-dated, pre-printed surveys, the teams deliver their surveys as print-on-demand physical questionnaires and via digital platforms. This ensures that the teams are using the service, as the patient and public involvement (PPI) team can now monitor patient experience across the entire trust. Moreover, the new scheme has already highlighted three areas in which the trust can improve its services; emotional support, privacy and dignity. As Johannsen-Chapman noted, “Slam’s patients now have a meaningful voice that influences the way the trust operates.”

Categories: foundation trust, johannsen chapman, Mental Health, Patient Engagement, patient experience, public involvement, services

Ethnic Minorities Have Worse Access to Mental Health Service

A new study has found a big difference in the access that various ethnic groups have to mental health services. This worrying report shows that your mental wellness and well-being could be directly affected by which ethnic group you belong to.

 

A team from the University of Edinburgh looked at the data available for people who were admitted to hospitals suffering from mood, psychotic and psychiatric disorders. The team noted that there may be inequalities in the way that these types of services are accessed between various ethnic groups. As a result of their findings, the researchers have called for those in charge of mental health services in Scotland to take a closer look at the way they are operating and find out how to provide an equal service for all patients.

 

This study was conducted using data from 2001 – 2008 and it’s the first time that this kind of study has been carried out in Scotland . Disorders included psychiatric problems and mood disorders like depression as well as psychotic disorders including schizophrenia.

 

For most minority groups who went to the hospital, patients were far more likely to be treated under the mental health act. This seems to show that those minorities, and particularly those from South Asia and China, were likely to access services much later on in their illness, showing that things were far more serious before they sought help.

 

It is thought that this delay in seeking treatment may well be due to a level of social stigma in some minority groups surrounding mental illness. There may also be a lack of awareness in some minority groups, with people simply not being aware of what medical help is available, as well as a reluctance to seek the help that is available to them. Unfortunately, this means that early-stage treatment and preventative care that could guard against more serious mental health problems are often missed.

Categories: disorders, ethnic, ethnic groups, groups, health, health services, mental, Mental Health, minority, minority groups, services

What Benefit do Sexual Health Services Provide?

All adolescents should have access to sexual health care, including family planning, in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But it seems as though more needs to be done in humanitarian settings to meet this need for refugee adolescents. The Women’s Refugee Commission and Save the Children have combined forces with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Population Fund to try to tackle this problem. The need for better reproductive health care for adolescents is extremely urgent and the statistics are worrying health professionals, who claim that two million girls under 15 years of age give birth every year – these girls have an increased risk of maternal mortality than other groups. The figures show that half of the sexual assaults are committed against girls under 15. The lack of community and family structures weakens the traditional forms of protection and leads to unusual behavioural patterns, which means that child-bearing risks are very high, as are the levels of exploitation and sexual violence. Forced early marriage amongst these young girls is not uncommon either.

 

A report conducted by WRC and Save the Children found that only 37 programmes were focused on the sexual health needs of 10 to 19 year olds since 2009. Only 21 of these offered more than two methods of contraception, and funding was equally low. In spite of the work that still needs to be done to improve these services, there were encouraging aspects of the report that provided some hope for the adolescents in need of them. There were various instances of notable practice in humanitarian settings which could serve as a guide for improving programming and increasing the access to reproductive health care for teens. There were common findings for the successful programmes, in that they built trust amongst the communities and built support by engaging parents, teachers and community leaders. They also worked to build the adolescents themselves by developing them as full participants in the assessment and design of the programmes.

Categories: services, sexual health, Teenagers

What Mental Health Services Are Available to You?

Mental health conditions are extremely serious, yet they receive very little media attention. It is because of this that few people know where to turn when it comes to receiving support or advice for mental health disorders. Depression, anxiety and related conditions can lead to suicide in some individuals, as they feel there is no way out. Local authorities often have support groups and advice centres where people can find help, speak to trained individuals and talk openly without judgement. There are also often day care centres, where people suffering from mental illnesses can receive treatment.

Treatment centres are a great resource for people with mental health concerns, as they help people get back on track with their lives, empower them to talk about how they feel and enable them to build friendships with likeminded people. There are also therapies for people to engage in, as well as training or volunteering projects, which can increase job prospects. Many people who attend these centres find that the opportunities available to them make dealing with their condition more bearable, as well as helping to improve their overall wellbeing.

Mental Health Awareness Week was created in 2000 and was developed to bring the issue of mental health to the fore. The awareness week was created the Mental Health Foundation, a charity which helps people lead healthier lives whilst dealing with these conditions. The charity works by carrying out research and developing solutions to create health services for the mentally ill. Each year, it also picks a theme, such as exercise – this is to highlight the different services that such charities can offer help with and to encourage people to use different methods to alleviate their symptoms. If you think you may be suffering with a mental health condition, speak to your GP who can determine if this is the case and offer advice.

What Mental Health Services Are Available to You?

Categories: Mental Health, services, Symptoms

What Gifts are Good to Give Friends with Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis comes with certain limitations, such as difficulty holding pens or doing up buttons, and so that nice stationary set or item of clothing you were going to buy for your friend may not be the best thing for their wellness. If you have a friend with rheumatoid arthritis – and a birthday coming up – there are many gifts you can give them that can help improve their wellbeing.

Firstly, get to know about the types of limitation that your friend has to deal with. Does he or she have a problem using regular utensils to prepare meals and to eat, or is that fine but reaching for items in their kitchen cupboards is a challenge? Once you have the low-down on their condition, there are several shops online that provide a wide range of items to help someone with rheumatoid arthritis cope with physical challenges.

Your friend might appreciate eating utensils with special grip handles that make them easier to hold and use or knives that work with a rocking motion – as these will greatly reduce stress on your friend’s hands and wrist. for gardening enthusiasts, tools with special grips or extra-long handles might be a good idea, or your friend might like a reacher or grabber which allows them to extend their reach and retrieve items. You can also buy door knob grippers, which make it easier to turn regular door knobs, special cushions that can be put on pens and pencils, and dressing aids, such as button hooks, zip pulls, and shoe horns.

If your friend struggles buttoning clothing, or has items that are difficult to put on, how about giving them a voucher to have the clothing altered by a professional tailor or seamstress? You could even do the alterations yourself if you are handy with a needle and thread – all you need is a few Velcro brand fasteners. Other vouchers your friend might appreciate include ones for lawn services, cleaning services, maintenance services, food shopping delivery or a catered or home-cooked meal once a month. You could also help them with a voucher for a massage, gym or fitness club membership, tai chi classes, hair salon services or even a spa day.

 

What Gifts are Good to Give Friends with Arthritis?

Categories: Arthritis, Friend, gifts, items, Rheumatoid Arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), services, special, Vouchers