Welfare Reform on the Web (August 2000): Mental Health Services - UK

BITING THE MAGIC BULLET

M. Muijen

Health Service Journal, vol. 110, June 24th 2000, p. 22-23

Argues that constant structural reconfiguration of mental health services and consequent increases in bureaucracy are leaving staff demoralised and disempowered.

JOINED UP OR DISJOINTED? ACHIEVING INTEGRATED PRIMARY CARE LED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

A. Cohen

Mental Health Care and Learning Disabilities, vol. 31, 2000, p. 332-333

Article takes a critical look at how primary care groups and trusts and the national service framework for mental health will interact.

MIND THE GAP

P. Rabiee

Community Care, issue 1325, 2000, p. 29

Focuses on the plight of young people with learning difficulties leaving care. They are either institutionalised in residential or day centre settings, or left to live independently without appropriate support.

THE ROLE OF PRACTICE NURSES IN THE PROVISION OF PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH CARE

S. Plummer, R. Gray and K. Gournay

Mental Health Care and Learning Disabilities, vol. 31, 2000, p. 338-340

The national service framework for mental health places clear expectations on GPs and primary health care services to take on the management of less serious mental health disorders. Practice nurses are ideally placed to carry out this work, but studies show they are ill-prepared for the task. Article reviews the evidence and argues for better pre- and post-registration mental health raining if the potential of practice nurses is to be realised.

TAKING A POUNDING

Simpson

Health Service Journal, vol. 110, June 22nd 2000, p. 26-27

Reduction in NHS beds for mental health patients has led to increasing use of the private sector. The cost of a bed in the private sector can be 75% more than one in the NHS. The use of private beds diverts funding away from community mental health teams and means that they struggle to keep track of patients.

Y

Men's Health Forum

London : 2000

While the number of women and older men who commit suicide has fallen significantly in the past 25 years, the figure for young men has nearly doubled. Very little is being done to address the specific needs of this group. Survey results showed that very few health authorities had strategies to combat suicide and even fewer had specific initiatives targeted at young men. Report calls on policymakers to start addressing the mental health needs of young men and to develop new approaches to overcome their reluctance to use primary health care services voluntarily.