Tag Archives: mental health

Carers – Being the connection in communication

October 9, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, health, mental health

Guest blog by matthew mckenzie
@mmckenz11

A blog for carers of mental health – Welcome back to another blog post from a fellow carer.

I would like you to check out the following scenario.

Just imaging this. Here we have a patient who talks to the doctor, the doctor sometimes struggles to understand the patient, then the doctor contacts the mental health consultant, the mental health consultant then contacts the care coordinator, the care coordinator contacts the patient, the patient then contacts an advocate and the advocate contacts the doctor, the doctor contacts the social worker who in turn speaks to the care coordinator who then is too busy to contact the patient who in turn does not contact anyone for a long time sinking futher into relapse.

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Extra funding for mental health services in Norfolk

September 29, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, mental health, Norfolk

Vulnerable patients are set to get extra support after more than £500,000 was invested to hire more mental health staff at two Norfolk hospitals.

Adam Gretton Health correspondent adam.gretton@archant.co.uk
Monday, September 29, 2014
2:40 PM

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) will use the investment from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) to place mental health staff in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn.

Health chiefs welcomed the extra funding, which will help recruit four mental health nurses for the psychiatric liaison team and an additional consultant psychiatrist this winter at the N&N.

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What mental health services can learn from Sandwell’s integrated approach

September 15, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, health, mental health

Sandwell in the West Midlands has re-engineered its services to support more people at an earlier stage in their illness, with impressive results

It is good news that the chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, has turned the spotlight on mental health in her latest report. She is right to argue for a big drive on public mental health.

There is already some great practice out there. I would urge Davies to take a trip to Sandwell to find out how and why the area is doing so well on violence reduction and reducing levels of depression.

Earlier this month, I travelled to Sandwell and Dudley to find out for myself. The answer is not rocket science, it is all about relationships. Focusing on building relationships helps people to become more resilient and capable.

Sandwell’s approach to mental health and wellbeing is all about recognising and developing people’s relational assets and never turning people away.

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