Strangulation of funds has seen the NHS Mental Health Trusts lose £253m, 2.3 per cent of their funding.

Strangulation of funds has seen the NHS Mental Health Trusts lose £253m, 2.3 per cent of their funding.

The core ideal of the NHS, that makes it so beloved by British people, is its promise of healthcare free for all. That promise has now become incompatible with the reality of austerity.

By 2020, the NHS will require an extra £30bn just to keep services at their present level. This strangulation of funds has seen the NHS Mental Health Trusts lose £253m, 2.3 per cent of their funding. These cuts translate into a dramatic loss of vital support for those with mental health conditions

With mental health issues affecting one in six, it’s time for the UN to update its development goals

With mental health issues affecting one in six, it’s time for the UN to update its development goals

Imagine a health problem that affects one in six of us, that has a deep and damaging impact on our family and working lives, where effective treatments are available, and yet where only about a quarter of people with this condition get any treatment. Is this a scandal of neglect affecting people with cancer or heart disease diabetes? No – this is the real situation for people with mental health problems in Britain today. These conditions span the range from autism to alcohol use disorders, and from depression to dementia. More than 50 years ago when mothers suffered from post-natal depression in England, they were given electroconvulsive therapy to aid their recovery. Yet there is little evidence that we treat provide better mental health treatment now than we did then.

A mental health nurse who sent sexually explicit messages to a patient over Facebook has been struck off.

A mental health nurse who sent sexually explicit messages to a patient over Facebook has been struck off.

A mental health nurse who sent sexually explicit messages to a patient over Facebook has been struck off.

Leigh Jennison contacted the man, who has Asperger’s syndrome, after assessing him at home while working for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

In a series of messages Mr Jennison asked if the patient wanted to sleep with him.

Oiling the Memory with fish oils

Oiling the Memory with fish oils

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have completed a study that found regular use of fish oil supplements (FOS) was associated with a significant reduction in cognitive decline and brain atrophy in older adults. The study examined the relationship between FOS use during the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and indicators of cognitive decline. The findings are published online in advance of print in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

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