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Mental Health Articles
US researchers find playing a musical instrument helps children overcome mental health issues (30 December 2014)
US researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine have found that playing music has a beneficial effect on areas of the brain which regulate behaviour – and suggest that children with mental health problems such as anxiety should be encourage to play instruments like the violin. Read more...
NICE issues new NHS mental health guidelines for pregnant women and new mothers (17 December 2014)
The NHS has been given updated guidelines for pregnant women who may be at risk from mental health issues. Read more...
DPP supports CPS decision to pursue case against mental health patient who killed herself (10 December 2014)
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Alison Saunders has said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was right to purse a case against a woman with mental health issues who had made allegations of rape which evidence suggested were false. Read more...
Woman with mental health condition who buried her baby alive pleads guilty to infanticide (8 December 2014)
A Latvian woman with mental health problems who lived in a London graveyard after escaping a life pf prostitution has admitted burying alive the child she gave birth to in 2012.
Read more...
Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust facing Monitor review over £2m debt (8 December 2014)
Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) is to be investigated by the mental health watchdog Monitor, after accumulating a debt in excess of £2 million in the last financial year. Read more...
Concern over NHS mental health bed shortages, after 16-year-old is held in police cell for two days (1 December 2014)
The case of a 16-year-old girl with mental health issues who was kept in police custody for two days because of a lack of mental beds has highlighted the plight of thousands of mental health patients unable to access mental health services and beds.
Read more...
Women’s mental health beds may be lost in Norfolk (1 December 2014)
A women’s inpatient mental health unit in south Norfolk – which also serves Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) – has learned that the local county council will not be renewing its contract because of costs. Read more...
US researcher calls for more research into link between depression and infection (28 November 2014)
A US researcher at Stony Brook University in New York is suggesting that the mental health condition depression may be caused by a virus, bacterium or parasite – opening up the possibility of treating depression as an infectious disease. Read more...
LibDems to boost mental health funding by £500m, says Clegg (24 November 2014)
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has told the Sunday Express newspaper that mental health is still top of his party’s agenda – and reforming mental health services will be a “front-page” pledge in the Liberal Democrat Election Manifesto. Read more...
RCN warns that mental health cuts will have long-term impact on services (24 November 2014)
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that cuts to mental health budgets – and a sharp fall in the number of mental health beds available – are putting mental health services across England under “unprecedented strain”. Read more...
CQC develops “intelligent monitoring tool” to assess NHS mental health services (21 November 2014)
NHS watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published data on every NHS trust in England which provides mental health services, to inform the public how the commission decides on which services to inspect and the aspects of care it focuses on. Read more...
North London branch of Mind reports increase in mental health issues among poorest, following Council Tax benefit cuts (13 November 2014)
The Haringey branch of mental health charity Mind has said that the poorest people in the community are suffering most from mental health issues – and as a direct result of government cuts to Council Tax benefit. Read more...
Public health chief links potential mental health issues to fracking (10 November 2014)
The head of Public Heath Lancashire, Dr Sakti Karunanithi, has warned that fracking in Preston may impact on the mental health of residents. Read more...
Mental health campaigners say Norfolk and Suffolk services are not placed on an equal footing with physical healthcare (10 November 2014)
The Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk has accused the NHS of failing to put mental health on a par with physical health. Read more...
Samaritans’ Twitter mental health app investigated over privacy concerns (5 November 2014)
Independent watchdog The Office of the Information Commissioner is to investigate a Twitter app launched by Samaritans, which detects when a Twitter user is suffering from depression. Read more...
Movember mental health campaign aims to help men open up before they become “broken” (3 November 2014)
The co-founder of Movember – which encourages men to grow moustaches every November to raise awareness about men’s health – has said that men often do not look after themselves “until it is too late”. Read more...
Ministers call for more help for military needing mental health care (3 November 2014)
Ministers have recommended that more resources should be devoted to address mental health issues in the military. Read more...
Mental health trust emphasises the importance of physical health for mental health patients (30 October 2014)
A public event organised for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust’s Mental Health Month has heard from mental health professionals on the importance of maintaining good physical health for those with a mental health condition. Read more...
Mind calls for more Local Authority spending on mental health (28 October 2014)
Mental health charity Mind has said that local authorities are spending too little on mental health services. Read more...
Government consultation on building mental health units inside prisons (27 October 2014)
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in considering plans to treat prisoners with mental health conditions inside specialist prison mental health units. Read more...
Movember report finds men still “suffering in silence” about mental health issues (27 October 2014)
A new report published by Leeds Metropolitan University ahead of next month’s Movember campaign has revealed that less than one-third of men would confide in their partner if they were worried they had a mental health problem. Read more...
Better communication with families of mental health patients’ urged by coroner (24 October 2014)
Assistant Coroner for Cornwall Andrew Cox has told Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust that its staff must communicate better with the families of mental health patients, following the death of a woman who had been detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act in the weeks before she died. Read more...
Report into North Wales NHS dementia ward reveals “harrowing” catalogue of patient abuse (20 October 2014)
An independent report has concluded that there was institutional abuse of elderly dementia patients at a North Wales hospital – with some patients left to crawl on the floor in their own faeces and others being taunted by staff. Read more...
Birmingham and Solihull mental health patients “sent 200 miles” for inpatient crisis care (20 October 2014)
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust has said that demand for services has meant some mental health patients are being sent out of the area for treatment – and in some cases, Birmingham mental health patients are being forced to travel 200 miles to access crisis mental health services. Read more...
Youngsters should only be admitted to adult mental health units as a “rare event” (15 October 2014)
New NHS draft guidelines say that young adults and children in Wales with mental health problems should only be admitted to adult mental health units as a “rare event”. Read more...
World Mental Health Day celebrated in North East (14 October 2014)
Mental health professionals, campaigners and patients have marked World Mental Health Day in Newcastle with a day of action involving live performances, stalls and testimonies from former mental health patients. Read more...
Patients with schizophrenia “should expect same quality of care” as NHS patients with physical conditions (13 October 2014)
The Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals and CQC lead for Mental Health, Dr Paul Lelliott, has said that helping people “lead full and active lives” is a goal that must be shared by those who provide care to schizophrenia patients. Read more...
Mental health trust CEO welcomes national waiting times (10 October 2014)
The chief executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has welcomed the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that from April 2015, mental health patients will be given appointments under national waiting time standards. Read more...
Deputy Prime Minister announces national waiting times for mental health patients (9 October 2014)
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that from April 2015, target waiting times will be introduced for NHS patients awaiting mental health services in England and Wales. Read more...
Former Broadmoor patient detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act on firearms charges (7 October 2014)
A 70-year-old who killed five people in a killing spree in 1978 has been told that he may be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act by Mr Justice Blair at Birmingham Crown Court. Read more...
£3.1m mental health centre planned for Middlesbrough (6 October 2014)
A £3.1 million health centre is being planned for central Middlesbrough to replace existing mental health facilities. Read more...
Trust fined after mental health patient is paralysed (3 October 2014)
A mental health trust has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after a vulnerable mental health patient was paralysed following a fall from height. Read more...
Public consultation opens on redesign of mental health services across southwest London (1 October 2014)
There are fears that some mental health services across southwest London could be lost when services are “redesigned”. Read more...
EU businesses form alliance to tackle mental health in the workplace (29 September 2014)
Leading employers across the EU are calling for mental health professionals and occupational therapists to push the mental health agenda and depression among workers up the corporate agenda. Read more...
Mental health trust must improve standards, says CQC report (29 September 2014)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has criticised standards of mental health care at units in the southwest of England run by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP). Read more...
Fatal stabbing of schoolgirl by mental health patient could have been prevented, trust admits (25 September 2014)
A new report published by Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group has found that opportunities to provide more support to a mental health patient who stabbed a Birmingham schoolgirl to death were missed.
Read more...
Mental health trust surveyed by CQC cuts budget by £15m – and spends £16.3m on temporary staff (23 September 2014)
The health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said that Norfolk & Suffolk Mental Health Foundation Trust (NSFT) must make improvements to services for mental health patients in the area. Read more...
CQC says mental health providers “must do more” to involve patients in their care (23 September 2014)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said that nearly one in three mental health patients is being let down by NHS mental health services – with some of the most vulnerable patients left with “no idea” of where to turn in the event of a crisis. Read more...
CQC “vital” to driving up mental health services – but lack of patient info “unacceptable” says Mind (22 September 2014)
The chief executive of mental health charity Mind has called the results of a CQC (Care Quality Commission) survey into mental health care “unacceptable” – as 32% of patients surveyed admitted they did not where to turn when experiencing a crisis in their mental health. Read more...
£32m mental health hospital for Belfast announced, as experts debate patients’ rights at Queen’s University conference (18 September 2014)
A new mental health unit is to be built in Belfast, which is due to open by June 2017. Read more...
Mental health patients being failed by police and NHS, says police inspector (15 September 2014)
A police inspector from the West Midlands has told MPs that police are being forced to take people with mental health conditions into custody because the NHS will not accept responsibility for them.
Read more...
Higher mental health risk for women who undergo failed fertility treatment – but still want children (15 September 2014)
New research from Cardiff University suggests that childless women who undergo fertility treatment which is unsuccessful may have a poor long-term mental health outlook.
Read more...
Mental health patient dies after being told he would have to wait months for acute depression therapy (11 September 2014)
An inquest has opened into the death of an IT expert who was told he would have to wait months to access mental health services for acute depression. Read more...
Lesbian, gay and bisexual community “have higher risk of mental health issues” (8 September 2014)
New research by the University of Cambridge has revealed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people may have a higher risk of mental health conditions such as depression – and are also more likely to have had a negative experience with their GP.
Read more...
Headmaster calls time on electronic devices in children’s bedrooms to boost mental health among kids (8 September 2014)
The headmaster of a private school in Highgate, north London is calling for a ban on televisions, computers and smartphones from children’s bedrooms to help improve their mental health. Read more...
Mental health patient facing extradition to US to face terrorism-related charges (5 September 2014)
The High Court in London has ruled that a mentally ill man can be extradited from Britain to the United States (US) to face charges relating to attempts to establish a militant training camp in the US state of Oregon in 1999. Read more...
Triage mental health nurses working alongside police in South Tyneside (1 September 2014)
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW) and Northumbria Police are working together to deliver a new service to mental health patients in South Tyneside. Read more...
Restraints and medication being used on Camden and Islington mental health patients (1 September 2014)
A report by Care Quality Commission (CQC) into Camden and Islington Foundation Trust has found that two-thirds of mental health patients in the care of the trust are subjected to face-down restraints – a procedure banned by the NHS. Read more...
Scientists Iidentify tiny area of the brain linked to anxiety about the future (26 August 2014)
Scientists have identified a tiny area of the brain linked to anxiety about the future – which could help devise treatments for those suffering from associated mental health conditions. Read more...
Breastfeeding “benefits the mental health of new mothers” (20 August 2014)
New research from scientists at the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London – together with a colleague at the University of Seville in Spain – has suggested that new mothers who breastfeed their babies are less likely to suffer from postpartum mental health issues such as post-natal depression. Read more...
Link between infection and mental health may be resolved using aspirin or Ibuprofen (18 August 2014)
Researchers at Cambridge University have suggested that anti-inflammatory painkillers like aspirin and Ibuprofen may help reduce the symptoms of depression in some people. Read more...
Leading psychiatrist calls on Department of Health to restore funding to children and young people’s mental health services (15 August 2014)
A leading expert in child and adolescent psychiatry is calling on the government to give children and young people’s mental health services parity with mental healthcare for adult patients. Read more...
Mental health doctor warns alcohol use may lead to those with depression “losing control” (13 August 2014)
A consultant physician at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is warning that using alcohol while depressed may push some mental health patients into considering ending their life. Read more...
Hampshire police success in keeping mental health patients out of cells (12 August 2014)
A three-month pilot scheme launched earlier this year by police in Hampshire has helped keep mental health patients in the area out of police cells, local publisher the Southern Daily Echo reports. Read more...
Charging for mental health support results in fall in user numbers (11 August 2014)
A mental health charity in Stevenage which started charging £10 for access to its services has seen user numbers fall from 30 to 20 a week. Read more...
Airline hoax passenger “sectioned under Mental Health Act” (7 August 2014)
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a man who staged a suspected bomb hoax on board a Qatar Airways flights to the UK on Tuesday (05/08/14) has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Read more...
Tooting MP writes to mental health trust over plans to close south London hospital’s mental health services (6 August 2014)
The MP for Tooting in south London, Sadiq Khan, has written to the chief executive of a mental health trust about the closure of all mental health services at one hospital in the area. Read more...
Training to help police spot mental disorders in gang members and victims (31 July 2014)
The Home Office has awarded £460,000 to the Metropolitan Police to help train police officers, doctors and teachers in how to recognise the symptoms of mental health conditions in gang members and gang victims. Read more...
Research suggests one in five parents may have mild to moderate mental health condition (29 July 2014)
Research by AXA PPP healthcare has found that as many as one in five parents may have a mild to moderate mental health condition, including anxiety, depression or stress as a result of the guilt they feel at leaving their children in someone else’s care. Read more...
Child abuse witness “failed by mental health services and legal system” (28 July 2014)
A coroner has ruled that a violinist who died from an overdose after giving evidence in a child sex abuse case was failed by NHS mental health services – and is calling on the legal system to do more to support vulnerable witnesses. Read more...
NHS spends 10% of budget on mental health – despite government pledge for parity with other NHS services (25 July 2014)
Figures on NHS spending on mental health services show that mental health care is receiving just 10% of NHS spending – and some health trusts are spending as little as 6% on local mental health services. Read more...
Son of murdered West Midlands couple detained under Mental Health Act (24 July 2014)
A 23-year-old man has been released from hospital and immediately detained under the Mental Health Act, after both his parents were found dead at their home in Solihull, West Midlands. Read more...
Children’s mental health taskforce launched by Care Minister (21 July 2014)
The government has launched a new child mental health taskforce in response to NHS England findings that young people with mental health conditions are being “inappropriately treated” because of lack of support in communities. Read more...
More help in Herts for professionals working with children with mental health conditions (21 July 2014)
A new website has been launched to help adult professionals in Hertfordshire spot the signs of mental health conditions in children and young people. Read more...
Norfolk & Suffolk cuts to mental health beds “may lead to serious consequences”, says UNISON (21 July 2014)
A BBC Freedom of Information request has revealed that Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has cut 100 beds in the last four years in a bid to slash £40 million from its budget. Read more...
Doncaster launches support scheme for mental health patients – by former mental health patients (15 July 2014)
Doncaster Council and NHS Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are to launch a two-year scheme under which mental health patients will receive support from volunteers who have overcome mental health conditions themselves.
Read more...
Passer-by who confronted Lee Rigby’s killers is detained under the Mental Health Act (3 July 2014)
A 49-year-old woman who stood up to the two men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks last year has been detained under the Mental Health Act. Read more...
Dorset police launch 12-month pilot with mental health practitioners (30 June 2014)
A 12-month pilot in which mental health professionals will work with police officers on patrol has been launched across Dorset. Read more...
Cannabis users and schizophrenia patients “share genes” (25 June 2014)
The findings of a new study show that people with schizophrenia and drug users who smoke cannabis share similar genes – and suggest that cannabis users may be more likely to develop schizophrenia than those who do not use cannabis. Read more...
Researchers for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) say mental health conditions among children in Britain may have increased (25 June 2014)
Researchers for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) say mental health conditions among children in Britain may have increased over the last 10 years. Read more...
Mental health budget cuts impacting on care for refugees with PTSD (24 June 2014)
The number of traumatised refugees arriving in the UK from war zones such as Syria and Iraq may be having a serious impact on Britain’s already stretched mental health services, according to one psychotherapist. Read more...
Children’s mental health charity says services for young people are nearing “breaking point”. (23 June 2014)
Children’s and young people’s mental health charity YoungMinds has said that cuts to mental health budgets have had a serious impact on children’s mental health services, with many services having reached “breaking point”. Read more...
Depression in women may be linked to higher heart attack risk (20 June 2014)
A new study by US researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia has found that young or middle-aged women with depression have double the risk of dying prematurely from a heart attack, compared with those without depression. Read more...
Mental health patients have a higher risk of being killed, say researchers (18 June 2014)
A new study by the University of Manchester has found that mental health patients are two and a half times more likely to be the victim of unlawful killings or manslaughter than those without a mental health condition.
Read more...
National mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness runs the service in Exmouth. (16 June 2014)
A mental health service in Exmouth, Devon, has used Men’s Health Week – which ran from 9-15 June – to encourage more men in Devon to come forward and seek help for a mental health condition. Read more...
NHS “rationing” hits student mental health services (9 June 2014)
NHS mental health services for students have been badly hit by the government’s budget cuts across mental health services. Read more...
New police custody suite signals “a massive change” for mental health patients (4 June 2014)
Chair of the Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing, Lord Adebowale, has said that improvements made to the treatment of mental health patients in police custody are “evidence of progress”. Read more...
Link between cynicism and increased risk of dementia (2 June 2014)
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland say that people who have a tendency towards being cynical may have an increased risk of dementia illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease. Read more...
Doctor in Cornwall “reduced to tears” by report into children’s mental health services (30 May 2014)
Staff working in mental health services for children in Cornwall have blamed budget constraints for criticism in a report by the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee.
Read more...
Mental health conditions can shorten life as much as smoking, say researchers (25 May 2014)
Researchers at Oxford University say that having a mental health condition may reduce life expectancy by between 10 and 20 years – and can be as detrimental to health as smoking. Read more...
Memory and IQ may predict schizophrenia risk (21 May 2014)
Researchers in Ireland have discovered that IQ and memory tests may hold the clue to whether to a person might go on to develop schizophrenia. Read more...
Children being denied the mental health services they need, says NHS England (19 May 2014)
An internal report by NHS England has found that only one-quarter of children with mental health conditions are being given the services they need. Read more...
Nottinghamshire launches consultation to mark National Mental Health Awareness Week (14 May 2014)
National Mental Health Awareness Week 2014 (12th-18th May) is being marked in Nottinghamshire by the launch of a consultation into tackling poor mental health levels across the county. Read more...
Mental health patients in East Anglia “driven to Cheshire for treatment” (12 May 2014)
Health workers in East Anglia have declared an emergency in mental services, after it was revealed that some mental health patients are still being sent hundreds of miles out of the area covered by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) for treatment. Read more...
Mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire “inconsistent” (8 May 2014)
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report has said that mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire are “inconsistent”. Read more...
Usdaw union pledges support to members with mental health issues (6 May 2014)
The UK’s fourth largest trade union Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) has voted in favour of unanimously supporting members with mental health issues. Read more...
Care provider prosecuted over death of mental health patient (2 May 2014)
A care provider has been prosecuted over the death of a mental health patient at a secure hospital in East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. Read more...
Court of Protection rules doctors can carry out C-section on mental health patient (1 May 2014)
The Court of Protection has given the go-ahead for doctors at Sunderland Council to sedate – and restrain by force if necessary – a pregnant woman in her thirties, so that her baby can be born by Caesarean section.
Read more...
Brighton and Hove children’s mental health services “stretched by rise in new referrals” (1 May 2014)
The findings of a review of services for children with autism spectrum conditions in Brighton and Hove has found that Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the region does not have the “expected checks and balances” in place to guarantee accountability in the provision of a public service. Read more...
Judge orders mother on murder charge to be detained under Mental Health Act (30 April 2014)
The mother charged with murdering three of her four children has been detained at a secure mental health unit after a preliminary court appearance on Tuesday (29/04/14).
Read more...
Lack of intervention in employee mental health issues “may impact on business” (30 April 2014)
New research has shown that employee absence as a result of mental health issues can impact on business just as seriously as physical illnesses, such as cancer. Read more...
Medical students oppose NHS cuts for mental health budgets (28 April 2014)
The annual BMA medical students’conference has called for an end to cuts to the mental health budget. Read more...
Young offender with mental health issues hanged himself just days into nine-week sentence (24 April 2014)
A 20-year-old man who hanged himself from his bunk bed just two days after starting a prison sentence had shown signs of having a mental health condition before he was sent to jail.
Read more...
Teenage mental health patients “refused access to NHS places of safety” (22 April 2014)
Figures from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) show that mental health patients under the age of 16 are being refused access to acute care units. Read more...
Sussex mental health trust “runs out of beds” due to rise in demand for services (14 April 2014)
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is currently placing 20 mental health patients with private healthcare providers because of a shortage of mental health beds in the region. Read more...
Campaigners walk 52 miles to highlight cuts to Norfolk and Suffolk mental health budget (7 April 2014)
Protests against cuts to mental health budgets in Norfolk and Suffolk continue, as 12 campaigners completed a 52-mile walk on Thursday (03/04/14) to raise awareness of the issue. Read more...
Mental health staff begin work in police stations in first pilot schemes (7 April 2014)
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and the Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust have launched pilot schemes which offer support to mental health patients as they are processed through the criminal justice system. Read more...
MP warns waiting lists for mental health service in Devon “could cost lives” (3 April 2014)
Labour MP for Exeter Ben Bradshaw has warned that two-year waiting lists for mental health patients to access services in Devon will put lives at risk.
Read more...
Further concerns over mental health bed closures in Bolton (31 March 2014)
Health chiefs in Bolton are defending their decision to close 50 mental health beds. Read more...
Nurse may have been killed by mental health patient (24 March 2014)
A nurse on her way to work may have been stabbed to death by one of the mental health patients she had cared for. Read more...
Trust pulls out of running mental health services for Bedfordshire (21 March 2014)
South Essex Partnership Trust (SEPT) is to continue running Bedford Mental Health Services for another year, despite pulling out of the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s (BCCG) procurement process in March. Read more...
Police chief calls for more places of safety for mental health patients in Devon and Cornwall (18 March 2014)
The Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Shaun Sawyer has expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in providing “places of safety” within local hospitals for mental health patients. Read more...
Mental health patients failed by Mental Health Capacity Act 2005 (17 March 2014)
Safeguards for mental health patients were which introduced in 2005 have resulted in thousands of vulnerable and elderly mental health patients being “imprisoned” in care homes against their will.
Read more...
More community care for mental health patients proposed by Bolton CCG (12 March 2014)
Health chiefs in Bolton have defended a decision to close 50 mental health beds at the Royal Bolton Hospital, claiming that the money saved will be invested elsewhere in health services. Read more...
Mother driven to kill children over custody fears found dead at secure hospital (11 March 2014)
The mother of three children whom she was jailed for killing has been found dead at the secure mental health hospital where she was being held. Read more...
Mental health trust cuts 400 jobs – then looks overseas to fill 505 posts (3 March 2014)
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has admitted that having cut 400 jobs at the mental health trust, they are now looking to fill 505 jobs by recruiting candidates from overseas. Read more...
NHS trust acts to improve communication, after mental health patient drowns (26 February 2014)
Essex Coroner’s Court has heard how a mental health patient being treated by the North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust was found drowned in the sea after disengaging from health professionals who were treating her. Read more...
Allegations that jobs at mental health trust are being downgraded to save money (17 February 2014)
Employees at the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust are alleging that the trust is downgrading some skilled mental health posts in a bid to save money. Read more...
Warrants for domestic violence and child pornography issued for father who killed son (14 February 2014)
A distraught British mother whose 11-year-old son was killed by his father after cricket training in Melbourne, Australia has revealed that she had taken out an arrest warrant against the boy’s Australian father – and said he should have been “locked up”. Read more...
Norfolk trust recruits more call centre staff for mental health referral service (13 February 2014)
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has announced that it is to recruit extra staff to its mental health service call centre. Read more...
Better integration in mental health care could save UK £70bn every year (12 February 2014)
A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that mental health issues cost the UK £70 billion every year as a result of lost productivity, healthcare costs and welfare benefit payments. Read more...
Call for government review after youth deaths in custody double (5 February 2014)
The Prison Reform Trust and campaigners INQUEST are calling for an inquiry into the deaths of children and young adults held in custody. Read more...
East Lancashire launches online support for mental health patients (5 February 2014)
Health bosses in East Lancashire have launched a new online help service for mental health patients. Read more...
Family of mentally ill British man held in Pakistan appeal to UK government to bring him home (29 January 2014)
A 69-year-old British man who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy by a court in Pakistan may be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Read more...
Stressed man hunted down by police in helicopter and ten cars (28 January 2014)
Aaron Dover, a 39 year-old former hedge fund manager, was detained for ten days against his will at Highgate Mental Health Centre. During his enforced stay he was physically restrained and injected with sedatives. Read more...
Liberal Democrats pledge to make mental health services a priority (28 January 2014)
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has suggested that attitudes to mental health issues need to be brought out of the “dark ages “ – and has said that mental health patients should receive the same access to appropriate health services as patients with physical illnesses. Read more...
Teenager arrested for murder sectioned under Mental Health Act (27 January 2014)
A 16-year-old boy who has been found arrested on suspicion of the murder of a 17-year-old girl has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Read more...
£26bn annual cost to London in tackling mental health issues (23 January 2014)
A new report commissioned by London Mayor Boris Johnson has found that mental health problems are costing London £26 billion every year. Read more...
South Tyneside mental health patients to be sent out of area for treatment (20 January 2014)
Mental health patients in South Tyneside could be forced to travel to Northumberland if a local council proposal to close three mental health units in South Tyneside goes ahead. Read more...
Norfolk sets four-month deadline to end out-of-area mental health placements (17 January 2014)
Health bosses at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) have pledged to end the practice of sending mental health patients outside the area for special and acute placements. Read more...
£100,000 compensation for mental health patient subjected to horrifying sexual abuse by care worker (14 January 2014)
A former mental health patient has painted a terrifying picture of mental healthcare in the UK, after revealing she had been raped 60 times by a care worker in a mental health unit. Read more...
Winter Friends Mental Health campaign launched across Herefordshire (13 January 2014)
Herefordshire’s 2gether NHS Foundation Trust is calling for local communities to become “winter friends” to lonely friends and relatives in an initiative to help prevent people suffering from loneliness from falling into depression and suffering mental health problems.
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Dual record keeping proves a headache for mental health staff (10 January 2014)
A report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into the Woodlands mental health unit in Suffolk has said that patient records – both paper and electronic – are often not fit for purpose, often because of failings in recording patient data accurately. Read more...
Mental health nurses pilot scheme for police stations (6 January 2014)
The government has announced that mental health nurses are to be posted at police stations and in courts to assist the police with cases involving detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983. Read more...
One in three young women “driven to suicidal thoughts” by unemployment (2 January 2014)
A new report by The Prince’s Trust has found that one in three young women facing long term unemployment experiences suicidal thoughts at some point – and one in four have self-harmed. Read more...