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Commissioning services for older people and mental health problems: is there a shared vision?
- Authors:
- TUCKER Sue, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 15(2), April 2007, pp.3-12.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
UK policy seeks to shift commissioning of services 'closer to people' with a view to establishing shared visions of local care services grounded in the opinions and priorities of the public. But the participation of older people with mental health problems and their carers in the strategic planning process has been patchy. This article compares practitioner and public perspectives of the services that should be provided for older people with mental health problems in an area of North West England. Significant differences were found in the services the various stakeholder groups prioritised for development, and in their views on how they should be organised. The implications for commissioning are discussed.
Old age mental health services in England: implementing the National Service Framework for Older People
- Authors:
- TUCKER Sue, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(3), March 2007, pp.211-217.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
There is much variation in the services provided for older people with mental health problems. In England, the National Service Framework for Older People (NSFOP) sought to address these inconsistencies and improve care. This study describes the situation three years after its publication. A postal survey of old age psychiatrists collected data on the NSFOP mental health model: the range of specialist mental health provision, the nature of the specialist: generic service interface and the degree of interdisciplinary/interagency working. Three hundred and eighteen (72%) consultants responded. Considerable differences existed in the deployment of key professionals within community teams, with more than a third lacking ring-fenced social work time. Few services had dedicated rehabilitation beds and nearly a third lacked separate facilities for people with organic and functional illnesses. Increasing numbers of consultants had access to a memory clinic and there was some suggestion that liaison services were developing, but little indication of increased support for care homes. Several services had yet to agree protocols with primary care, or to implement measures promoting effective information-sharing and integrated care, and there was little evidence that the introduction of the Single Assessment Process (SAP) had significantly changed practice. Although just over half of consultants reported that mental health services were improving, less than a quarter considered community provision adequate. Three years after the publication of the NSFOP there remained significant gaps in services for older people with mental health problems and substantial variation in provision between districts.