Search results for ‘Subject term:"severe mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Lost and found: voices from the forgotten generation
- Author:
- RETHINK
- Publisher:
- Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 11p.
- Place of publication:
- Kingston upon Thames
Mental health has for decades been treated asthe “Cinderella service,” though for the past six years, it has sat alongside cardiac care and cancer as one of the government’s three health priorities. Its priority status has led to a period of dramatic reform and, in certain areas, dramatic investment. However, this period of reform has bypassed many people. The reform process has focused predominately on crisis support but not on those who have been within the mental health system for some years. This campaign highlights the needs of a group of people called the ‘forgotten generation’. These are people with severe mental illness living in the community who have been largely forgotten by mainstream mental health services. For the most part, these are the people who have lived with a severe mental illness for many years, passing through and surviving a series of early crises, feeling rejected by society and who now live their lives without the all-round help and support that would allow them to raise their quality of life.
Breaking the silence: creating a civil rights movement in mental health
- Author:
- RETHINK
- Publisher:
- Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 14p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report is part of Rethink Rights, a three-year project campaigning for the rights of people with mental illness. It focuses on the question: how do we learn from previous civil rights movements and apply these lessons to severe mental illness? Disadvantaged groups, including women, minority ethnic groups and LGBT people have successfully campaigned for equal rights with the majority, but people with mental illness still face prejudice and discrimination in their daily lives.
The diversion dividend: interim report
- Authors:
- SAINSBURY CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH, RETHINK
- Publisher:
- Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health; Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 13p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper describes how diversion for people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system has been the subject of considerable political and public attention over the last two years. Knowing that one prisoner in ten has a severe mental illness and that mental ill health is a ‘default’ among the prison population as a whole has led to a growing call for action to divert more people to the care, treatment and support that they need. This paper indicates how the case for change remains compelling, and if anything is enhanced by the prospect of a period of spending pressures. The paper provides current evidence on the spending implications of reinvesting money already in the health and justice systems on diverting many more people with mental health problems to services that will improve their health and reduce their risk of criminal activity. It also outlines some of the human stories behind the diversion debate and presents the interim results of a project begun by Sainsbury Centre and Rethink to quantify the costs and benefits of diversion. In summary, the report finds that diverting offenders to community support rather than prisons would save money in the justice system and reduce reoffending rates, and individuals and their families also benefit from diversion if it gets them access to health services and other sources of support to get their lives back on track.
Right from the start: the second Rethink report on reaching people early
- Author:
- RETHINK
- Publisher:
- Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 15p.
- Place of publication:
- Kingston upon Thames
Reaching people early can make a huge difference to those living with a severe mental illness, their families and their friends. Main problems during first illness experiences are: double disability - living with stigma and discrimination as well as mental health problems; poor knowledge of early warning signs by family, friends and the individual who is developing mental health difficulties; coming to terms with the reality of mental health problems (eg, hearing voices, feeling depressed); poor primary care awareness - reception staff, practice nurses, GPs etc all lack adequate mental health training; family and friends are ignored; low quality of mental health services for adolescents and young adults; few targeted first onset services; and an all pervading pessimism that holds back progress. But it is not just the first intervention which should be delivered early. People with mental health problems have the right to expect access to timely care and treatment during a mental health crisis to support improved recovery. For too many people with long term mental health problems, the help they receive in a crisis is too little too late. Key points that affect how well an individual can navigate during their journey through mental health problems include: access to effective round the clock help and support; access to information; timely use of the best medications; recovery oriented care and support; alternatives to hospital admission for managing mental health crises; choice and involvement in planning and management of treatment and support; and success to culturally appropriate support and social inclusion.
Just one per cent: the experiences of people using mental health services
- Authors:
- UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA, RETHINK
- Publisher:
- Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 7p.
- Place of publication:
- Kingston upon Thames
Rethink regularly carries out social survey research to monitor expert opinion on standards of mental health care. The recent Our Point of View survey, upon which this report is based, asked are things getting better for the people who use mental health services, their families and friends at the beginning of the 21st Century in Britain? This report looks at what service users want in order to feel fully represented.
Behind closed doors: acute mental health care in the UK: the current state and future vision of acute mental health care in the UK
- Authors:
- RETHINK, et al
- Publisher:
- Rethink
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 23p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report reveals that, despite some 650 national strategies, guidelines, frameworks and protocols issued by the government over the last five years, much still needs to be done to improve the harrowing conditions under which some of society’s most vulnerable people are treated. The report found that there are too many people in our psychiatric units, particularly those – like the psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs), that work with those most severely ill. The report shows, that there is a crisis in psychiatric in-patient care with wards over-crowded, treatment taking place in “bleakness and squalor” and staff left feeling demoralised and unsupported. The report also highlights developments that may improve this situation.