Poor employer support ‘adding to strain’ on mental health teams

All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Work calls on employers to step up efforts to improve wellbeing of mental health social workers

Poor employer support ‘adding to strain’ on mental health teams

by Rachel Carter Photo: Time to Change   Social workers in mental health services are being placed under increasing stress but left without adequate support for their own wellbeing, according to a new report. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Work called on employers to produce explicit plans for improved mental health support for […]

More mental health patients sent hundreds of miles

"It's a discrimination, at the heart of our NHS, against people with mental ill health" Norman Lamb, Lib Dem MP

More mental health patients sent hundreds of miles

By Michael Buchanan Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News Nearly 5,500 mental health patients in England had to travel out of their area last year because of a lack of hospital beds, new figures show. Some patients had to travel nearly 300 miles, while one trust had to declare a major incident. The figures, obtained through Freedom […]

More mental health cuts inevitable without funding reform, warns boss of under-fire trust

Mental health services will be cut further unless the government reforms the NHS funding system to give them a fairer settlement, the boss of an under-fire provider has warned.

Michael Scott, chief executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, told Community Care that the current NHS payment system drove commissioners to divert more funds into acute hospitals at the expense of mental health and community providers. Unless more funding is allocated to mental health, trusts will “simply have to reduce services”, he said.

Mental health social work fast-track scheme backed by £1.6m of government funding

A training scheme to fast-track graduates into mental health social work will be backed by £1.6m of government funding next year, care minister Norman Lamb is expected to announce tonight.

The Think Ahead programme will use the money to fund its operational costs in 2015-16. Costs include recruiting students, designing the academic curriculum, and developing a leadership training element for the scheme.