Category Archives: mental health

Personal budgets mooted for mental health

Personal budgets mooted for mental health

Care minister Norman Lamb has said he would like to see mental health patients being given personal budgets to pay for care.

Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, Mr Lamb said: “I would like to move to a ‘right to have’ in relation to a personal budget and to extend it to mental health; giving individuals control over their health.

“You hear stories of how people used to go in and out of hospital and care constantly falling down.

“When they take control their wellbeing improves and they can stop the revolving door and improve their whole experience.”

NHS patients ‘should not face constant moves’

Patients often face multiple moves around hospital

Hospital ward The era of NHS patients being shunted around hospitals needs to end, an expert group says.

The Future Hospital Commission – set up by the Royal College of Physicians – said a radical revamp in structures was needed to bring care to the patient.

This was particularly true for frail people with complex needs, who often faced multiple moves once admitted to hospital, the report said.

It also recommended closer working with teams in the community.

The commission said this could involve doctors and nurses running clinics in the community and even visiting people in their own homes – as is already happening in a few places.

Police: A&E 'better' than cells for mentally unwell

Detention in cells is intended to be used only in exceptional circumstances

 

 

Ch Supt Irene Curtis says A&E would be a “better place” when mental health units are unable to take them.

Care minister Norman Lamb has described the standard of some crisis care as a “national scandal.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers says dealing with mentally ill people takes up a fifth of police time.

Police can detain people where no crime has been committed but they suspect the person is mentally unwell. The temporary police power is called a section 136.