CQC mental health report finds ‘containment over care’
This article tells us. The health regulator for England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) interviewed 4,569 people and viewed more than 1,546 wards with patients that were subject to the Mental Health Act. The CQC found that none of the patients felt involved in plans about their care or treatment and many were unaware of what they needed to do for their discharge to be considered.
Apparently, around 1 in 4 people will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives and 1 in 6 will be experiencing them at any one time. While people living in the countryside probably have better mental health compared to those in towns or cities, those who do develop mental illness are less likely to seek help than their urban-based counterparts. This is compounded by a lack of clinical specialists to support people with mental health issues. To try to overcome some of these barriers, The Institute of Rural Health (IRH) recently published a Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit (funded by Defra and the Department of Health) is intended to help commissioners of healthcare services, decision-makers and practitioners to consider rural issues when planning and delivering healthcare. It can be found here.