NEWS


Mental health services in crisis T


he number of hospital beds available for people with serious mental health problems has fallen


by almost 30% over the past decade, worrying new figures reveal. Despite the increasing prevalence


of psychological conditions among the UK population, official figures show the number of beds for patients with some of the most-serious problems has fallen from 26,448 in 2009 to 18,082 in the first quarter of this year. Over the same period, there has also been a significant fall in the number of mental health nurses working in the NHS – from 46,155 to 39,358 – and in the number of doctors in specialist psychiatry training, from 3,187 in 2009 to 2,588 this year.


A CINDERELLA SERVICE The figures come despite claims by ministers that improving care for the mentally ill is a top priority for the Government, and in light of Prime Minister, Theresa May’s, recent announcement of an additional £20billion for the wider NHS. MP Dr Dan Poulter, a former Tory health minister and a part-time NHS mental health clinician, referred to psychiatric services as the ‘Cinderella’


of the NHS, with child and adolescent mental health lagging the furthest behind acceptable standards. “The reality on the ground is that


there are ever-fewer beds available for the patients who need them,” he said. “This means that people who are


very unwell are unable to access timely inpatient care.” He added: “Mental health


professionals work incredibly hard, but we are under resourced. “Despite the need to expand services


to meet the needs of patients, and to provide more support for people with mental illness in the community, there are simply not the resources available to do it.”


Bed shortages are so severe in some parts of the country that patients are


routinely being sent hundreds of miles from home to access inpatient care.


TOP PRIORITY Ministers have pledged to eradicate this practice by 2020, but with current funding this is a target that will not be met, fear critics. Last week in the House of Commons the Prime Minister admitted more needed to be done and that the service had been ‘overlooked for too long’. And NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens, has identified mental health as one of the five priorities that the service’s 10-year plan will need to tackle. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Mental health is one of this Government’s top priorities and we are committed to seeing services improve through record amounts of funding, an additional £1billion between 2017-18 and 2020- 2021, and major increases to the workforce, with 21,000 new posts to be created by 2021.”


French village to set design standard F


rance is to become a trailblazer for dementia-friendly design around the globe with plans for a new


village near to the border with Spain. To be built in Dax in the south west of


France; the government-funded village will be enclosed for residents’ safety and will boast a supermarket, health centre, hairdresser, brasserie, gym,


library and a farm. The £25.5m development, which has been designed by Danish firm, NORD Architects, will be built to look like the centre of a medieval walled town so it fits in with the architecture of the region, and it will be designed to aid navigation and boost memory and reminiscence. Residents will live in shared houses


and nursing staff will be dressed in plain clothes.


Experts say the village could help


people to maintain healthy social lives which may be difficult when living in a normal town or a traditional nursing home.


www.nordarchitects.dk


mhdf magazine


7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23