In 2010, the NHS set the goal of “parity of esteem” between mental and physical health services.
There has been little obvious progress towards this goal. In fact, in June of this year, the BMA revealed a 40% rise in mental health patients being sent out of their local area to get the care they needed, with often devastating consequences for patients and their families.
During the lead up to the general election this summer, Theresa May vowed to change the Act, if the Conservatives were successfully re-elected on 8 June.
Last week, the Government and the Department of Health have announced the appointment of Sir Simon Wessely (a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists) as chair of an independent review of the Act, tasked to unpick key concerns regarding the working of the current mental health legislation, such as:
Campaigners argue that the legislation as it stands is discriminatory and stigmatising, with far too much emphasis on risk, at the expense of the rights of the individual.
The Care Quality Commission have expressed concerns about rising numbers of detained patients, suggesting that one reason for this might be the lack of community alternatives to inpatient care.
This review will work with service users, carers, professionals and other organisations to try and achieve a broad consensus of the priorities for government to take forward. The outcome will be a series of recommendations within an interim report in the spring of 2018 and a final report in a year’s time.
This is an ambitious timetable, but a sensible approach.
It is far from clear that the Act bears responsibility for all the problems identified. Solutions may lie in updated legislation. Equally, funding, allocation of resources, practice or attitude may hold the key to real change. That a medical professional, rather than a lawyer is heading up the review may open the door to a more holistic exploration of the factors responsible for these important issues. In turn, this may lead to an acknowledgment that the solutions may be complex and multi-faceted, but also a commitment to effect real and lasting change.
Contact Sheree Green.
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
The 2022 Code replaces the NHF Code of Conduct 2012 (the 2012 Code) and sets out the baseline standards that the NHF expects of its member registered providers (RPs).
The High Court has dismissed a challenge by the Police Superintendents’ Association to the closure of legacy public sector pension schemes.
In my recent blog, I said that we would be issuing a series of ebriefings and blogs highlighting issues with the Procurement Bill. This is the first of these.
Contractors and delivery partners are facing a ‘perfect storm’ in many cases with a number of factors directly impacting upon the profitability of their work.
Worker status, like Piers Morgan, is one of those things that we think has gone away and then it pops up again!
We are seeing a steady trickle of decisions focused around the issue of flexible working requests or employer requirements for changes to working patterns (both pre and post the pandemic).
For those of us who have endured a choppy cross channel journey, the mention of P&O Ferries will invoke some nauseous memories.
Successive generations have witnessed seismic shifts in the workplace; post-war it was the return of the soldiers and the impact on working women who had to work in their place.
In this podcast, Puja Desai interviews Kimberley Foster and discusses her experience with counselling. This is a really helpful podcast for anyone who has thought about counselling.