Health Management and Policy Alert

Identifying SEND: final report on special educational needs & disabilities and contact with CAMHS

Education Policy Institute - 

This is the final report of the project ‘Identifying Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’ (SEND), funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It summarises the research questions, methods and findings of the project, and presents recommendations for improving policy and practice. The research questions concerned which children are identified with SEND, the nature of the ‘postcode lottery’ reported on by Ofsted in 2010, and what inequalities exist in support for SEND. The project considers the importance of deprivation, and has a focus on social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).

• Report
• More detail

Why investing in children’s mental health will unlock economic growth

Future Minds - 

This report finds that the current lack of capacity in the mental health system means far too many young people reach crisis point, putting pressure on emergency, urgent and crisis services. The report argues that immediate and long-term costs of inaction are far greater than the investment that could be made now in cost-effective interventions that can help to turn the tide. Developed by the Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and YoungMinds, with the support of the Prudence Trust, Future Minds is a campaign calling on the government to deliver urgent reform and investment to boost children and young people’s mental health services.

• Report
• More detail 

Mental health inpatient settings: creating conditions for learning from deaths in mental health inpatient services and when patients die within 30 days of discharge

Health Services Safety Investigations Body -
This report finds that systemic issues, lack of patient and family involvement and cultures of fear and blame contribute to mental health services not learning from inpatient deaths. The findings evidence challenges in maintaining safety, conducting effective and timely investigations and ensuring system wide learning. It identifies that, whilst investigations and patient safety event analysis aim for transparency and learning, they are often of variable quality.

• Report
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body - news

Mental health performance, data and insight: guidance for directors of adult social services

Local Government Association - 

This guidance document has been developed by Partners in Care and Health (PCH) working in collaboration with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Mental Health Network. The purpose is to provide practical guidance for directors of adult social services (DASS), to ensure insight and understanding in relation to their duties and wider system performance related to adult mental health services.

• Guidance

ADCS safeguarding pressures research – phase 9

Association of Directors of Children’s Services -
This research highlights changes in safeguarding activity which have not previously been seen, or not previously seen to this extent. One of the key themes was health challenges, from the impact of delayed access to assessment or treatment plans for parents and carers, particularly for alcohol and substance misuse, to growing concerns about poor mental health among adolescents. It finds that, for the first time, poor parental mental health has overtaken domestic abuse as the most common factor in children’s social care assessments. It also uncovers concerns around poor quality housing and the long term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Report
• Association of Directors of Children’s Services - news

Mental Health Bill: House of Lords, Committee of the whole House, 14, 20, 22 and 27 January 2025

NHS Providers - 

This briefing covers amendments tabled ahead of the Committee of the whole house up to and including 9 January 2025.

• Briefing
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Mental health services: the NHS trust perspective

NHS Providers - 

This briefing provides an outline of mental health services in the NHS, the current levels of demand that NHS trusts are facing and what trusts need in order to deliver a more proactive and co-ordinated community-based model of mental health care.

• Briefing
• More detail

Care beyond beds: exploring alternatives to hospital-based mental health care

Centre for Mental Health -
According to this report, an overhaul of mental health care is needed to achieve the Government’s goal of shifting treatment from hospitals to communities. It finds that inpatient care is too often characterised by unsafe levels of bed occupancy, chronic staffing shortages and dilapidated facilities which risk re-traumatising patients. Black people, neurodivergent people and children are among the most poorly served. It concludes that the NHS ten-year plan must boost investment across the mental health system to drive a ‘safe and sustained shift’ towards community care, and to provide inpatient care which is high quality, close to home and adequately staffed.

• Report
• Centre for Mental Health - press release

 

Exploring health and social care perspectives on the implementation of ‘Right Care, Right Person’, under the National Partnership Agreement

Partnership for Responsive Policy Analysis and Research (PREPARE) - 

‘Right Care, Right Person’ (RCRP) is a policy designed to end the inappropriate and avoidable involvement of police in responding to incidents involving people with mental health needs. This report from the University of York, York St John University and The King’s Fund explores the view of health and care staff on implementing the policy and the emerging impact on practice and care.

• Report
• Associated blog

Right Care, Right Person

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 

Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is an approach that is aimed at ensuring that people of all ages who have health and/or social care needs, are responded to by the right person, with the right skills, training, and experience to best meet their needs. Home Office and DHSC analysts evaluated the implementation of RCRP through a rapid process evaluation covering police, fire, health and social care services.

• Report
• More detail