Community resilience is a marker of how well communities can handle and recover from difficult events. It is referred to in various resilience framework policies; but how is it measured, and how can it be used to target support? Here, Christine Camacho and Dr Luke Munford outline their work in developing a new measure – […]
From mental health to maternal health: understanding the link
It is increasingly recognised that women’s health needs are under-resourced, under-researched, and under-funded. But what happens to women for whom multiple health needs overlap? Here, Dr Holly Hope, Dr Rohna Kearney, and Professor Kathryn Abel outline their research into the reproductive health outcomes of women with mental illness, and what is needed from policy and […]
Did the UK fail in its management of mpox? Lessons for future pandemics
In 2022, Europe, the US, and Canada experienced widespread community transmission of mpox, constituting a health emergency. Previously, mpox had been endemic to Central and Western Africa. In the UK, a wide response involving multiple stakeholders was developed. In this article, Dr Maurice Nagington, Dr Jeremy Williams, and Dr Jaime Garcia-Iglesias discuss the findings of […]
Can we upskill the health and social care workforce to meet the growing demand for digital transformation?
There has been growing interest regarding the potential of digital transformation to aid the UK’s health and social care system in its ambition to meet modern demands placed upon it. But what skills do different employees in this sector need – and is the infrastructure in place to support them? Here, Dr Alan Davies and […]
Mind your language: interpreters in Mental Health Act assessments
In England and Wales, the Mental Health Act can be used to detain people experiencing a mental health crisis, and who may pose a danger to themselves or others. However, some of those assessed under these powers will not use spoken English. Here, Professor Alys Young, Dr Rebecca Tipton, and Dr Natalia Rodríguez-Vicente explore the effects on the assessment […]
Mind the gap: supporting prison leavers with mental illness
Many people in prison have severe mental health problems, but what is being done to help these individuals resettle when released? And how can policy and practice reduce reoffending rates, while ensuring prison leavers with mental illnesses are given the support they need to reintegrate into the community? Here, Dr Jane Senior, Professor Jennifer Shaw, and Dr Charlotte […]
Locked up like adults – COVID-19 experiences for children in custodial settings
During the early period of the pandemic, there was a lack of detailed guidance for many groups, including the secure estate. For children in custodial settings, this meant staff often applied measures intended for adult prisons, in lieu of any other information. Here, Dr Charlotte Lennox shares her research showing children in such settings were an invisible group […]
The toll of ‘Deaths of Despair’ in England
In 2015, a phenomenon coined as ‘Deaths of Despair’ (DoD) emerged in the US, highlighting an alarming increase in mortality due to drugs, alcohol, and suicides, particularly among white men without a college education. Here, Christine Camacho and Dr Luke Munford explore the spatial patterning of these deaths in England, where an estimated 46,200 lives […]
Joining the dots: assessing the roll out of social prescribing link workers in primary care
Social prescribing is the referral of patients to non-clinical treatments – often for mental health needs and long-term health conditions. In 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan embedded the role of link workers to coordinate and refer patients from Primary Care Networks. But are the right areas getting the support they need – and how […]
Practice under pressure: how can the exodus of GPs be reversed?
There is a workforce crisis in UK primary care. Analysis of the latest workforce data confirms a continuing drop in England’s number of general practitioners (GPs) – the equivalent of 2,133 fewer fully qualified, full-time GPs than in September 2015. One answer from policymakers has been the introduction of non-GP practitioners into surgeries, to alleviate […]