News
NHS England’s Professor welcomes Prime Minister’s dementia announcement
A new vision for dementia, announcement by the Prime Minister, has been welcomed by NHS England’s Clinical Director for Dementia Professor Alistair Burns. On Saturday, David Cameron announced the next phase of the government’s “challenge on dementia” programme. He pledged £300m of investment into dementia research over the next parliament, a new global fund on […]
£75,000 charitable grant to fund national review to assess needs for veterans’ mental health
The NHS is set to benefit from a charitable grant of £75,000 to review the mental health needs of military veterans. The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), has awarded the money to fund a national review of Health Needs Assessments for veterans’ mental health and other health related needs. The review aims to: understand the […]
Guidance on new mental health standards published
NHS England has set out guidance for how new access and waiting time standards for mental health services are to be introduced. In October, NHS England and the Department of Health announced the measures in Improving better access to mental health services by 2020. NHS England’s guidance, out today for CCGs, explains the case for change […]
TV presenter calls for those with ‘dementia symptoms’ to take advice
A TV presenter whose dad died from dementia has urged people with symptoms to heed the advice of medics and come forward as early as possible. Journalist Sarah Travers (40), who has worked for a variety of media outlets including ITV and the BBC, was devastated when her dad Ian died of the disease in […]
Scientists on target with dementia cure or drug
Scientists are on target to develop a cure for dementia within the next 10 years, Alistair Burns, NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia has said. He says he is confident there will be a cure for dementia, or at least a drug that will significantly slow down its progression, by 2025. Professor Burns, 56, who […]
New resource to improve young people’s mental health services
A new resource with tools for commissioning effective mental health services for children and young people has been published. NHS England has published the new model specification for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) targeted and specialist services (tiers 2 and 3) which treat patients with a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties such […]
Mental health patients can put services to the test
Patients using mental health and community health services are able to give feedback on their experiences of care and treatment from today (Thursday, 1 January, 2015). This comes as the Friends and Family Test (FFT), a real time patient feedback tool that is already operating for some hospital services such as maternity and A&E, continues […]
England’s top dementia doctor says “Make cutting back on alcohol your New Year’s resolution”
NHS England’s top dementia doctor says cutting back on alcohol to protect your mental health is a good 2015 resolution. Prevention is something everyone can help with as the NHS tackles the growing issue of dementia, says Professor Alistair Burns, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Dementia. He said a number of research studies* showed […]
Mental health choice guidance published
NHS England has published updated guidance to help commissioners, GPs and providers support mental health patients exercising their legal rights to choose who provides their care and treatment. This follows extensive consultation on the interim guidance published earlier this year. In April 2014 the Government established for people with mental health conditions the same legal right […]
Eight pilots to lead innovation in children’s mental health
Eight pilot schemes set to lead the way in innovating change to services for children and young people with mental health issues have scooped a share of a £500k fund. Pilots in NEW Devon, Derbyshire, Newcastle, Tameside and Glossop, Norfolk, Southampton, Wolverhampton and South Sefton have all been awarded up to £75k to develop their plans. […]