CM Mental Health

The Local Government Ombudsman has reminded social workers to correctly record capacity assessments under the Mental Capacity Act after a man with dementia was forced to live in a care home against his wishes.

With headlines proclaiming the increasing strains that the NHS is under, the latest research from healthcare consultancy LaingBuisson argues that there is a mass of opportunity for innovative and cost effective healthcare providers across all sectors - public, private and voluntary - to step up to the challenge of offering a range of specialist services in new ways, away from traditional hospital settings.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released a new report examining the first five years of the implementation of the deprivation of liberty safeguards, during which time the number of applications have risen from 7,200 per year to 13,000 per year at March 2014.

Molecules in the blood formed from cholesterol could be linked to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from Kings College London. Funded by the Alzheimer’s Society, the study looked at fatty molecules in blood samples from 124 individuals, including 36 with the disease and 48 with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Researchers identified 10 molecules whose levels in the blood predicted Alzheimer’s with an accuracy of 79%. The study, however, found no overall correlation between cholesterol in blood and Alzheimer’s.

The Department for Education is to introduce two new qualifications for care workers in residential children’s homes to identify the early signs of child sexual exploitation and cyberbullying.

There is significant variation in the quality of the commissioning of neurological services among clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), a report from the Neurological Alliance has found.

Research from the University of Essex has found that eco-therapy can improve mental health, boost self-esteem, improve physical health and reduce social isolation. Experiencing nature-based therapies such as horticulture and environmental conservation programmes can also help people with mental health get back into employment.

Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement announced a £15m funding boost for dementia. Part of the £2bn of NHS finance announced at the beginning of this month, a new fund will focus on research to develop new treatments for dementia. It will also aim to bring in further investment from the private and voluntary sectors to back a range of research projects.

A report published by the Transforming Care and Commissioning Steering Group, chaired by Sir Stephen Bubb, has called on NHS England to close inappropriate institutional inpatient facilities’ for people with learning disabilities and boost capacity in the community with the development of a new investment fund.

A further 23% had not been informed who was in charge of their care and 26% had not had a formal meeting to discuss their care in the last year.The findings show that 32% of respondents did not know who to contact out-of-hours in a crisis and that 20% who had contacted out- of-hours teams did not receive the help they needed.