Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 385

In Bulletin No. 385 once again the main news topics are dementia and social care.and learning disabilities. Concern over care caps and the standards in care homes feature. The Alzheimer's Society has declared that too many dementia sufferers are placed in homes at too early a stage and a study has concluded that progress has been made in the reduction of prescribing antipsychotics to dementia sufferers. Another study has found that people who have learning disabilities have a significantly shorter life span and that they are still targets for hate crime.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 384

Dementia takes centre stage again in Bulletin No. 384. The Department of Health has published its nursing vision and strategy: Making a Difference to Dementia and has issued a letter: The Right Care: creating dementia-friendly hospitals. Meanwhile the Care Quality Commission has published a report: Care Update2: Dementia which criticises the care given to dementia sufferers across the nation, saying the country is struggling to deliver effective care.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 383

In the Research section in Bulletin No. 383 there is an article which appears in the BMJ that gives more insight into debunking the myth that mentally ill people are the perpertrators of violence. The research shows that mentally ill people are the likely victims of violence and murder. In the news are statistics that show heroin and crack use is falling and alcohol-realated deaths are holding steady

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 382

Matters concerning alcohol figure in Bulletin No. 382. A coalition of 70 alcohol groups have produced a report which includes a call for a  concensus across the UK for a minimum of 50p price per unit of acohol. The Welsh branches of Alcohol Concern and The Royal College of Psychiatrists have published a report on the links between problem gambling and alcohol. Following on from a report which showed a higher level of alcohol intake by children in Brighton than in other parts of the country, the local authority is considering implementing contracts where parents pledge not give their children alcohol. Also in this bulletin a new section on Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)