Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 412

A Cambridge academic has stated that in his view children as young as seven years old should be screened for mental health problems. His argument for early interventions aired in the British Medical Journal. Bulletin 412  you can read that the repercussions of the Winterbourne scandal rumble on.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 401

A new charity: MindFull, which provides online counselling to 11- 17 year olds, is urging schools to put mental health on the timetable. Their first report emphasises that not enough is being done to support teenage children. Meanwhile NHS Western Isles, at the other end of the age spectrum, is delivering dementia care via robots to sufferers in remote areas. Also on dementia in Bulletin 401 is the news that hospitals fail to make adequate tests on patients with dementia.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 389

The new Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) section in Bulletin no. 389 has several interesting studies including an investigation in to the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression and anxiety in both children and adolescents. Meanwhile the Department of Health has released its vision for the role of school nurses in the health and wellbeing of children

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 387

NICE has been busy this week: after declaring that dementia care is patchy across the country they have published  a new guidance for support in dementia care and also a commissioning tool kit for dementia. Their guidance on the health and wellbeing of looked after children came out this week as well. All this and more in bulletin No. 387

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)

"Alarming" NHS child eating disorder statistics

NHS figures just released show a sharp increase in children being treated for eating disorders. In England 2000 children were treated with 197 under the age of 13 being admitted to hospital. The figures from 35 hospitals were procured under the Freedom of Information Act.

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Parents, teenagers and drinking

A survey carried out on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted the influence of parental drinking habits on their offspring. It appears that even moderate parental overindulgence can affect teenage attitudes what is acceptable limits of intake

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SLaM's dual OCD trials

The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder service for children and adolescents run by SLaM (South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust) is the only one in the country that provides this range of treatments. It is currently running two trials which they hope will improve outcomes. One is assessing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) delivered by telephone and the other is investigating the prescribing of the drug D-Cycloserine.

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Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Mental health leaders are warning that adult mental health and social care services are at risk in the rush to address the targets for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The government strategy No Health without Mental Health states that it is proven early intervention in childhood reduces mental health problems in adulthood and expects the NHS to prioritise CAMHS

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Does it cut both ways?

The government has announced its plans to boost the profile of mental health services to an equal footing with physical conditions. £400 million is to be injected with particular focus on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). It is hoped that as well as reducing stigma, 1.2 million people will recover earlier than previously. However charities such as Young Minds have warned that the spending cuts elswhere, such as Sure Start centres, will undermine the strategy.

Read the Department of Health document
Read the charities reply

Nicknames may hurt me, not sticks & stones

A YoungMinds survey studying the classroom experiences of 2629 young people between the ages of 9 and 25 has reported the distress caused to mentally ill pupils by verbal abuse. The report also stated that witnesses to the abuse were often distressed by this behaviour. The stigma involved made it very difficult for mentally ill children to report feeling unwell compared with children who were feeling physically unwell. The charity has called for intensified health promotion to reduce the stigma involved.

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Thousand of child carers of the mentally ill

The Mental Health Foundation has published a report My Care that states there are an estimated 50,000 to 200,00 child and adolescent carers of severely mentally ill adults. Many suffer from bullying as a result of the stigma surrounding their parents' conditions. Anxiety and frustration are leading to the carers themselves becoming mentally ill and also disruption of their education. Professionals who have contributed to this report are calling for more support for this vulnerable group.

Read the full article
Read the MyCare report

Child development impacts on later mental health

A review in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry explored how child development impacts on the mental health of people in later life. The findings also recommended more research into preventative interventions.

Read the original abstract

Not Minding the Gap

A study in the British Journal of Psychiatry maintains that young people are falling into a black hole when they become adults and leave child and adult mental health services (CAMHS). Researchers from the University of Warwick followed 154 service users who made the transition for a year and concluded that provision was in the main poor.

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Read the original abstract

Mental health failing autistic children

The National Autistic Society has published a report following a survey carried out on 450 parents of autistic children. The society is, as part of its campaign: You Need to Know, lobbying the government to improve Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for autistic children

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Coalition of charities plan to improve mental health of young people

The Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, is planning new strategies to improve the mental health of young people up to the age of 25. The fifteen charities involved are concerned that the stress affecting young people in the UK is not being adequately addressed

Reda the full article

Ofsted report on CAMHS for young people in care

Ofsted have published a report on the inconsistent provision of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for young people in care. Young people over the age of 16 from twenty seven homes in eight local authorities were assessed and the barriers to accessing services were highlighted.

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Up the ZZZZs to minimise depression

Research has shown that teenagers who have fewer hours of sleep each night are more likely to suffer from depression and they are also more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study in the journal Sleep studied 15,500 12 - 18 year-olds and concluded that lack of sleep could effect emotional brain responses.

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Read the original abstract

Questionnaire tool for young mental health service users

King's College, London is developing a questionnaire to be used as a tool to measure the experiences of 9 - 17 year olds who have used mental health services. The Children and Adolescent Service Experience (ChASE) will put 15 questions to the children and their carers about therapy received. The tool is considered to be an effective way to evaluate the views of young users who have in the past been ignored. However it is felt that the tool must not become a substitute for talking to young people.

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Mentally ill children leaving Care lack support

A new report published by the Local Government Association (LGA) finds that children leaving care who have mental health issues are not receiving the support they need. The care leavers support teams do not have the experience needed to deal with mental illness or have enough knowledge of the different Child (CAMHS) and Adult services provision for mental health.
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Read the report