Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 398

Four watchdogs in England and Wales have joined forces to publish a report, A Criminal Use of Police Cells, which challenges the treatment mentally ill people receive when coming into contact with the judicial system.  Meanwhile the use of face-down restraint on mentally ill inpatients is being challenged. A large part of  Bulletin No. 389 comprises of news about social care: The Care Quality Commission is set to monitor death rates in care homes while Unison claims that two thirds of councils fund social care visits that only last 15 minutes.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 397

Although various incarnations of "Books on Prescription", have been around for several years, a "new" scheme was launched last week. GP's will be able to "prescribe" books on depression and other mental health conditions which will be held in local libraries. Previously books on dementia and diabetes were made available this way. In Bulletin 397 there is a very large section on eating disorders this week, including a study on how the family dynamics impact on eating disorders.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 396

In Bulletin No. 396 you can link to the news item which informs us about the new test for Down's Syndrome. Not only is it safer to perform, and more accurate, but it can also be carried out much earlier in pregnancy than the previous test. There is a research article in the learning disabilities section on the genetic background to Down's. Also in this section is research on autism, ADHD, and Fragile X syndrome.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 395

In Bulletin No. 395 you can link to the new statistical report from the Health Social Care Infromation Centre: Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2013. The bulletin also has a large section this week on various addictions.