CQC reports on local action to improve mental health care for children and young people

 Click here for CQC report

Inquiry into the support available for young people who self-harm

This inquiry explored the experiences of young people who self-harm in accessing support services.  Click here for further details.  

Practitioners who support young adults needed to take part in digital technology study

Digital technology can present both opportunities and harms to young people and their mental health. A new research project is asking for practitioners who support young adults with their mental health to take part in a UK-wide online survey to identify the importance of adolescents' digital technology use to consultations about mental health.
Click here to read more

Study: Screen Time Has Little Impact on Kids’ Social Skills

Read PsychCentral article here

Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs

Read YoungMinds report here

Concussions in high school athletes may be a risk factor for suicide

Concussion, the most common form of traumatic brain injury, has been linked to an increased risk of depression and suicide in adults. Now new research suggests high school students with a history of sports-related concussions might be at an increased risk for suicide completion.Read ScienceDaily article here

Mental Healthcare in Young People and Young Adults

This review looks in detail at the mental healthcare provided to young people from the unique perspective of the overlap between physical and mental healthcare, the quality of physical and mental healthcare provided and how patients with mental health conditions use healthcare services. Click here to read Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership report

Psychiatry: Multigene test predicts depression risk

An international team has found a genetic score that reliably predicts the risk, severity and age of onset of depression in young people. The study also confirms a history of childhood abuse as a risk factor. Click here to read further.

For older adults, sense of control tied to feeling younger

A recent study finds that older adults feel younger when they feel that they have more control over their daily lives, regardless of stress or health concerns. However, stress and health -- not a sense of control -- play a significant role in how old younger adults feel. Click here to read further.

Mental health issues increased significantly in young adults over last decade

The percentage of young Americans experiencing certain types of mental health disorders has risen significantly over the past decade, with no corresponding increase in older adults, according to new research. Click here to read further.

Extra Support for Suicidal Teens Can Cut Risk of Dying Young

Providing a suicidal teen with extra support from a few caring adults during vulnerable times appears to reduce the risk of dying young. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Offer digital CBT to young people with mild depression, NICE says

Children and young people can be offered digital cognitive behavioural therapy (digital CBT, also known as computer CBT) as a first-line treatment for mild depression.  Click here to read further.

Mental health issues in young people up sixfold in England since 1995

Six times more children and young people in England have mental health conditions than a generation ago, research has revealed. Read newspaper article here

Emergency and acute medical care in over 16s: service delivery and organisation [NG94]

New: Guidance


This guideline covers organising and delivering emergency and acute medical care for people aged over 16 in the community and in hospital. It aims to reduce the need for hospital admissions by giving advanced training to paramedics and providing community alternatives to hospital care. It also promotes good-quality care in hospital and joint working between health and social services.


https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng94

State of child health: one year on

This report from the RCPCH warns that the current fragmented approach to child health poses risks to the long-term health of the nation.

Whilst the report acknowledges progress in some areas, such as the digital child health strategy and the implementation of the sugar tax, it argues that there has been a lack of improvement in several fundamental areas. It highlights the public health cuts as a particular area for concern and argues that the cuts are disproportionately affecting children's services.

Public Health England: Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Framework

Public Health England has published guidance for local teenage pregnancy prevention programmes designed to help young people avoid unplanned pregnancies and develop healthy relationships.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teenage-pregnancy-prevention-framework

NHS Performance Statistics - January 2018

Combined Performance Summary

• Urgent and emergency care – Accident and Emergency, NHS111, Ambulances, Delayed Transfers of Care 
• Planned care – Referral to Treatment, Diagnostics, Mixed Sex Accommodation, NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, Patient Reported Outcome Measures 
• Cancer - Cancer Waiting Times, Cancer Registrations, Cancer Emergency Presentations, Cancer Survival Estimates 
• Mental Health - Early Intervention in Psychosis, Out of Area Placements, Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder, Contacts and Referrals, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies

Child vision screening guidance updated

Public Health England has updated its guidance on child vision screening. The resources for commissioners and providers include a service specification, competencies, leaflets and template letters.

Speech and language delay in children: a case to learn from

Br J Gen Pract 2018; 68 (666): 47-48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp17X694373 

Speech and language delay in children is a common presentation to primary care either directly to the GP or through the health visitor, affecting approximately 6% of pre-school children. Young children, particularly those with speech delay, can be difficult to examine. Differentiation between an isolated pathology and those with concurrent global developmental delay is crucial. This article presents an example of a common case, considers the learning points, and highlights management principles.

UHCW Research: Nicola Wooles and Emma Hoskison

Preventing emergency hospital admissions for children and young people

A briefing from Nuffield Trust looks at the relationship between deprivation and the use of emergency hospital care by children and young people in England.

It describes areas of inequality and explores how they have changed over time. As well as looking at the overall patterns of emergency hospital use, it focuses in particular on three common conditions – asthma, diabetes and epilepsy – where more timely and effective primary, community or outpatient care could prevent admissions.