CQC warning over mental health care for children and young people
A report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) warns children and young people with mental health needs are facing long waits for essential treatment.
Among those who are receiving care, many children have been placed in the wrong settings, such as adult wards or general children’s wards, adding to their distress.
The Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2022/2023 report also highlights longstanding inequalities in mental health care.
People from ethnic minority communities are more likely to experience mental illness and less likely to receive the support they need.
Black or Black British people are more than three-and-a-half times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people.
The report calls for improved safeguards for people detained under the Mental Health Act, improved community support and workforce investment.
Read the full report via the CQC website here.
The Big Ambition report reveals children's attitudes on health
The Big Ambition report has revealed children's attitudes to health and digital life.
The large-scale survey of children in the UK found 8 in 10 agree they can access good healthcare when they need it.
Children in mental health settings appeared to face the most significant challenges. On average they answered every question about health more negatively than other children.
The survey also found children did not see a difference between their online and offline worlds and wanted to engage with the opportunities the online world offered them.
However, concerns were raised about some types of content, for example, harmful content on eating disorders.
The report calls for children's solutions to be at the heart of election manifestos and makes a series of recommendations in key policy areas.
Find out more and download the full report via the Children's Commissioner website here.
Lived Experience Knowledge Hub launched
The ALLIANCE has launched a Lived Experience Knowledge Hub.
The new library of resources and guides is designed to support organisations in delivering more meaningful engagement with lived experience.
The hub includes practical tools to deliver engagement activities, plus key insights and best practice guidance.
Access the hub via the ALLIANCE website here.
Exploring “community” and the mental health lived experience landscape
A new report explores the meaning of “community” in the mental health lived experience landscape.
It explores whether those with lived experience of mental ill-health, distress and trauma could be considered a “community” and how the term can be assumed or forced upon individuals from the outside.
The report aims to inform and challenge work focussed on engaging communities and lived experience, including how people can be harmed and who is left behind.
Download the report from the National Survivor User Network website here.
Artificial intelligence in sexual and reproductive health and rights
A new technical brief by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Special Programme on Human Reproduction explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Researchers developed the technical brief through consultation with experts and a scoping review.
They found current applications often focus on screening and predicting health concerns, as well as access to information through conversational agents or chatbots.
If AI is recognised as a tool and not a solution, there is an opportunity to make sexual and reproductive services and information more accessible to all.
However identified risks and challenges include potential data breaches, bias in training data, unequal global digital access and connectivity, misinformation and a lack of transparency in how systems are developed and applied.
Read more about the briefing via the WHO website here.
Study: Anti-racist interventions to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare
A new review aims to assess the evidence for interventions which aim to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare.
Researchers found a more person-centred approach, with fewer steps for patients to navigate, can contribute to reducing disparities for programme delivery.
For organisations, there is an overemphasis on individual behaviour change.
Instead, organisations should shift their focus to policies and practices that seek to dismantle institutional and systemic racism.
Read the full study findings via BMJ Open here.
VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance Resource Library launched
National Voices has launched its VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance Resource Library.
The aim is to showcase work undertaken by members of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance. Projects are sorted into the following themes:
- Mental health and suicide prevention
- Maternal health
- Social prescribing
- Primary care
- Digital inclusion
- Elective care and waiting
- Social care
- End of life care and support
- Additional health inclusion and inequality themes
Access the resource library via the National Voices website here.