Monthly Archives: November 2012
Mental health service failing thousands in crisis every year
Mental health services in England are failing thousands of people in crisis every year, because they are understaffed, under resourced, and overstretched, says the charity MIND.
Caroline White
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
The charity bases its conclusions on three separate pieces of research: Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to mental health trusts; a service user survey of almost 1000 people; and preliminary research by University College London.
The findings show that four out of 10 mental health trusts (41%) in England have staffing levels that are well below established benchmarks, and access to crisis care varies widely.
One in 10 crisis teams still fails to operate services 24/7, despite recommendations by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Only half (56%) of crisis teams accept self-referrals from known services users and just one in five (21%) from service users that aren’t already known to them. This is despite NICE guidance that crisis teams should offer self-referral as an alternative to emergency services.
Check your own home for fire safety – DVD
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service
We want you, your family, friends and neighbours to be safe from fire in your home, to help you do this we have a short video which will highlight the risks in your home room by room and give you some advice on how to make it safer.
If you are over 60 or have a disability which could make it more difficult to react to a fire please contact us to see if you are eligible for a free home fire risk check of your home.
We also have a Home Fire Risk Self Checker which you can print out or follow on line, this helps you walk around your home identify potential risks and tells you what you can do about them.
46 per cent of cancer carers work full-time, says Macmillan
Some 46 per cent of cancer carers – those looking after another person who has the disease – work full-time, says Macmillan Cancer Support.
And it has been worked out that over 50,000 UK full-time workers could be giving care equivalent to more than a week’s worth of work to a cancer sufferer each week.
“Dealing with the relentless physical and emotional pressures of caring for someone with cancer is hard enough, combining it with a full-time job is extremely difficult and can drive carers to breaking point,” warned Macmillan Cancer Support chief executive, Ciarán Devane.
