Staff

Direct payments can now be made to older people. But a 12-month research project has revealed that service users, carers and junior staff still have little knowledge of them. The authors of the Shield research team, Anglia Polytechnic University, and Tower Hamlets Coalition of Disabled People explain that service users are cautiously optimistic about what direct payments offer them but are anxious about the practicalities.

This study uses focus groups of users, carers, and structured staff interviews to explore the physical health needs of mental health services users and the barriers that make it hard for them to seek or gain access to services. Results found that despite the inextricable link between physical well-being and mental health, professionals in both primary and secondary care fail to view users holistically. Professional role ambiguity and poor communications result in access difficulties for users and add to the burden felt by carers.

Reports on the development of a joint mental health strategy for older people in a central London Borough. The project brought together clinicians and practitioners from a variety of settings, the voluntary sector, and users and carers. The aim of the project was to develop a shared philosophy of care based on promoting independence and from this to identify the components of a spectrum of care that would meet the wide range of needs of elders with mental ill health. The borough had high levels of deprivation, unemployment and poor housing.

Physically aggressive behaviours pose major problems to carers supporting people with intellectual disability. This review considers the prevalence and nature of this form of challenging behaviour within this population and describes possible causal factors. Discusses the present status of both behavioural and pharmacological interventions for aggression and outlines the importance of devising reactive management plans for aggressive behaviours.

DVD