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More people than ever are receiving psychological therapies and April saw the highest recovery rates so far in the history of the programme, end of year data has shown.
The number of people referred for treatment from January to March (Q4) increased to 367,689 by around 17,000 from 350,505 in Q3. The 15 per cent access target was exceeded hitting a new high of 16.8 per cent.
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NHS England has today (23 September 2015) published a six-monthly data report on patient safety incidents reported to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) between 1 October 2014 and 31 March 2015.
Acute hospitals, mental health services, community trusts, ambulance services and primary care organisations report incidents to the NRLS where any patient could have been harmed or has suffered any level of harm. The reporting of incidents to a national central system helps protect patients from avoidable harm by increasing opportunities to learn from mistakes and where things go wrong.
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More than 20,000 people have given their views on the top priorities for reshaping mental health services as part of a drive to develop a five year national NHS strategy for people of all ages.
Better access to high quality services, a wider choice of treatments, more focus on prevention, more funding and less stigma were the top five calls for change by 2020.
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Vulnerable patients are being discharged from hospital unsafely and sent home to situations where they have inadequate support because of lack of coordination between health, social care, and community services, an investigation by the healthcare consumer organisation Healthwatch England has found.
The investigation was based on the experiences of discharge of 3230 people considered as vulnerable (elderly people, homeless people, and people with mental health conditions) and on information gathered from trusts through freedom of information legislation and from surveys of patients.
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Smoking may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, an analysis by a team from King’s College, London has found.
An association between cigarettes and psychotic symptoms has been reported before, but it has been generally assumed that this arises because people with the symptoms take up smoking as a way to relieve distress, counteract the symptoms, or manage the side effects of drugs used to treat them.
People who are underweight in middle age are at increased risk of developing dementia, while increasing weight and obesity offer protection against the condition, a large cohort study has found.
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A number of previous studies have looked at the association between weight and dementia, and most have found that the risk of dementia increased among adults who are overweight or obese, although some studies have found the opposite. Most of these studies have been small, which led the present researchers to conduct a much larger analysis of the link.
Issue 69
January 2015
Pharmacy-based screening for cardiovascular risk
A systematic review suggests that pharmacy-based screening for cardiovascular risk factors may be possible. However, many people do not act on the advice to visit their GP, and the effect of screening on new diagnoses has not been robustly shown.
Self-management of hypertension in people at high risk of cardiovascular events
An open-label randomised controlled trial finds that people with hypertension who self-monitor their blood pressure and up-titrate their antihypertensive medication experience a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure than people who manage hypertension with usual care.
Mental health after stopping smoking
A meta-analysis finds that stopping smoking is associated with reductions in anxiety, depression and stress, and improvements in quality of life and mood.
Alpha-blockers for expulsion of ureteral stones
A Cochrane review reports that alpha-blockers are more effective at expelling ureteral stones less than 10 mm in diameter than standard therapy or calcium channel blockers.
Haemoglobin thresholds for blood transfusion
Two meta-analyses report that restricting transfusion of red blood cells to people with a haemoglobin level of either less than 7.0 g/dl or 6.4 g/dl to 9.7 g/dl reduces mortality and serious infection, but does not significantly affect the overall risk of infection.
Evidence Updates
NICE has recently published Evidence Updates on:
Antenatal and postnatal mental health: clinical management and service guidance
This updated guideline from NICE makes recommendations for the recognition, assessment, care and treatment of mental health problems in women during pregnancy and up to 1 year after childbirth, and in women who are planning a pregnancy.
Drop by the Staff Library today between 10:00 – 4:00pm and find out how we are marking World Mental Health Day.
Whilst browsing Twitter on a damp Tuesday afternoon, I came across this listing for FREE courses on Mental Health and Wellbeing. This one entitled Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture is offered by the University of Liverpool, beginning on 8 September and lasting for 6 weeks. For further details please go to: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/mental-health-and-well-being
There are many other short courses available, also free, including ‘Inside Cancer’, ‘Cardiovascular disease’, ‘How to read your Boss’ and many more.
For one week each May, The Mental Health Foundation campaign around a specific theme for Mental Health Awareness Week. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is anxiety, one of the leading causes of mental ill-health in the world.
The Staff Library is also supporting Mental Health Awareness Week by providing 15 minute therapies to support staff wellbeing. These will include head/foot massage, reflexology and others. These free taster sessions with qualified therapists will take place in the library on Monday 12 May, from 10am-2pm. Everyone welcome to come along to the library and be de-stressed! Refreshments also available along with quick guides to help you cope with anxiety, depression and related issues.
Please contact the Staff Library for further details on 01625 661362.
To support staffs mental health the Wellbeing Service has developed a ‘Wellbeing Links Library’ on Wellbeing Direct to signpost a number of useful mobile apps, video’s and websites designed to help increase physical and mental wellbeing.
For more information about Mental Health Awareness Week visit The Mental Health Foundation Website at:
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/mentalhealthawarenessweek/
Guidance by topic: the following guidance topics matching your health area preferences have been published or updated
In this month’s edition you will find:
• Workshop to launch AQuA’s SMS/SDM Commissioning Framework
• AQuA members shortlisted for care awards
• Lessons learnt from AQuA’s In-hospital Mortality work
• AQuA Reducing Avoidable Hospital Mortality
• Deep Dive Into: Latest programme dates
• AQuA’s Lean Network
• Robert Francis master class
• Introduction to Lean, Cohort 4 – hold the dates!
• Patient Safety Ambassadors
• Advanced Team Training Programme
• A New Role for Finance in Quality Improvement
• Community SAFE – programme update
• Patient Safety Champions
• Living Well with Dementia
• Integrating health and social care teams
• Whole person care: From rhetoric to reality
• Spreading the word about Shared Decision Making (SDM)
• ‘Train the Trainer’ event to support SDM spread in the NW
• Don’t just Screen – Intervene project
• Mental Health and Long Term Conditions (LTC) newsletters now available
• Quality profiles for NHS Mental Health Trust
Critical care bed capacity and cancelled operations: monthly situation reports – March 2013Reliable health information is reaching a far wider audience now, but how can mental health professionals decide what to choose?
This article from the Guardian looks at some of well known mental health sources but also mentions other resources you may not have come across.
Centre for Nursing Innovation
http://www.fons.org/library/dissemination-series.aspx
The links below enable you to freely download and share the latest Improvement Insights, part of the FoNS Dissemination Series Improvement Insights.
Each of these one-page summaries reports on the innovative ways in which nurse-led teams across the UK have been supported by FoNS to work with patients, relatives and staff in their drive to deliver excellent care.
Volume 8 Numbers 1-10:
FoNS is committed to supporting the development of nursing and healthcare practice and one of the ways we achieve this is by providing freely accessible information. All the projects and initiatives reported on have been supported by one of FoNS’ practice based development and research programmes and have aimed to:
The second Care Update is published this month on Dementia.
Analysis of data from a large randomised controlled trial suggests that intensive glucose control in critically ill patients is associated with moderate to severe hypoglycaemia, and a higher risk of death.
Evidence Updates
NICE recently published Evidence Updates on:
Please find attached a link to the November edition of AQuA News at https://www.aquanw.nhs.uk/content_items/6134
In this edition you will find:
• AQuA Launches its Improving Outcomes Pack On Chronic Liver Disease
Chronic Liver Disease
Liver disease is now the 5th commonest cause of death in the UK and one of the few developed nations with an upward trend in mortality from liver disease.
• Academic Health Science Networks
• Registration Open For Final Advancing Quality Collaboratives Of 2012
• Advancing Quality: An Introduction For CCGs
• New Collaboration Website Launched For Advancing Quality Teams
• AQuA 2012 Member Survey
• AQuA Mental Health Bespoke Work
• Preventing Suicide In England
• Congratulations To HSJ Efficiency Award Winners!
• Are You Shared Decision Making Positive?
• Your Health Your Decision: A Conversation About Shared Decision Making
• AQuA Improvement Methodologies (AIM): Next Cohort Open For Bookings
• AQuA Lean Network
• A New Role For Finance In Quality Improvement: Cohort 3
• Take Advantage Of AQuA Lean Opportunity!
• AIM+ Programme
• AQuA Patient Safety Ambassadors
• IHI Open School Licences
Introduction to Lean Resources
In this area you will find resources from the Introduction to Lean programme for utilisation in your workplace.
A range of online training resources covering various patient experience themes, such as dignity, pain management, communication and social inclusion and equality, have now been added to the support for commissioners’ tools for the guidelines on:
Please note the postponement of the following event: July 10, 2012
The shape of the acute care sector in the face of NHS reform and the implications for the wider system.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the above event will now be re-scheduled. The new date will be communicated once available. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Latest AQuA News. Issue 20: July 2012
Inside this edition you will find some of the following:
– AQuA Holds Its Second Member Annual General Meeting
– AQuA At The NHS Confederation Event 2012
– AQuA & Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust Host Targeted Improvement Workshop In Manchester
– Mental Health AQuA Improvement Methodologies Course Is Launched
– Avoiding Unnecessary Hospital Admissions And Inappropriate A&E Attendances Of Children & Young People With Long Term Conditions
Link to full details…
June 2012 North West locality and regional benchmarked scorecards
Please see the June 2012 NW locality and regional benchmarked scorecards for older people combining health and social care data covering the period January – March 2012. These should be used in strategic conversations with health and social care teams regarding improvement and resource allocation.
Latest AQuA News. Issue 19: June 2012
Inside this edition you will find some of the following:
– AQuA Launches Learning Set for Shared Decision Making
– Don’t miss AQuA’s Annual General Meeting
– This year’s Clinical Leaders Network/AQuA Steve Henderson Award Winner Announced
– Launch of the AQuA Mental Health ‘Harmfree’care Programme
– Blackpool shows how it is Advancing Quality in Heart Failure Care
Link to full details…
This briefing summarises the findings and recommendations from a recent report into race equality in mental health commissioned by the Department of Health . The report is based on a series of interviews with NHS and local authority leaders. The briefing outlined findings such as black and minority ethnic groups, particularly people from black African and black Caribbean backgrounds, historically experiencing poorer outcomes than the rest of the population. It was also found that some groups continue to have higher rates of admission to inpatient units and greater rates of detention than the rest of the population.
AQUA news and events
The trust is a member of the Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA,) a membership health improvement organisation in theNorth West. Its mission is to mission is to stimulate innovation, spread best practice and support local improvement in health and in the quality and productivity of health services.
To help it achieve its mission AQuA provides a range of free webinars, workshop and training materials to stimulate innovation and improvements in clinical practices.
N.B Access to resources is free but staff members must sign up to the free AQuA membership portal. Each of the links below will prompt you to sign up before progressing to the resources or register for the free training sessions.
Latest roundup
Demand Management WebEx: Urgent and Emergency Care – Friday, 27 April 2012.
Urgent and Emergency Care – the national policy context and A&E quality standards, the first year.Guest Speaker: Dr Matthew Cooke, Department of Health National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care.
Improving quality outcomes
AQuA is pleased to announce an update to its COPD Improving Outcomes Packs (IOPs). Improving the quality of services for patients who have been diagnosed with, or are at risk of developing COPD should be high on every commissioner’s agenda. Follow the link above to access contemporary resource.
AQuA Improvement Methodologies (AIM)
Cohort 9 (May – July 2012)
The AQuA Improvement Methodology programme is geared at front line staff/operational leaders in member organisations wanting to gain an introduction to the fundamentals and concepts of quality improvement. Suitable for staff with a basic knowledge of quality improvement tools or for experienced staff wanting to refresh their knowledge and skills.
Long Term Conditions Update
A Monthly update, which covers the AQuA LTC programme.
Mental Health Update
Issue 2 – A Monthly update, which covers the AQuA MH programme.
Long Term Conditions Diagnostic tool
The AQuA LTC diagnostic tool, based onThe King’s Fund’s Ten Priorities for Commisisoners, aims to provide a cross sectional view of outcomes across the ten priorities benchmarked against regional and national data.
Advancing Quality Heart Failure/CABG collaboratives
Advancing Quality is hosting two collaboratives on Monday 23rd April 2012 – one focusing on heart failure and one focusing on Coronary Artery Bypass Graph (CABG).Both events will include a number of presentations and networking opportunities where we hope to share best practice across theNorth West in heart failure and CABG care.
Advancing Quality Stroke collaborative
We are inviting you and your AQ stroke team to this Advancing Quality stroke collaborative on Tuesday 29th May 2012.
The meeting will include a number of presentations and networking opportunities where we hope to share best practice across theNorth West in stroke care.
The fourth year of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) service: 2010/11 This is the fourth annual report of the IMCA service, which is an innovative statutory service provided by the voluntary sector. It acts as a safeguard for people who lack capacity.
Library & Knowledge Service blog 