Blog

Partnership working can be transformative – if it works well. Here we share two techniques, observed as part of the Healthy Communities Together programme, that can help in forming healthy partnerships.

Angela Fell, Director of Northern Heart and Soul in Wigan, outlines why we should move beyond person-centred services to a community-centred approach in order to transform people's health and wellbeing.

Data, funding and workforce – if the government wants its proposed reforms to the MHA to create change these system-wide enablers are as important as individual changes to legislation. Helen Gilburt consider the issues.

As we reach the one-year anniversary of the start of lockdown in the United Kingdom, Richard Murray outlines how a whole-system response will best support staff and patients and help to tackle inequalities.

Helen Gilburt shares her research into how mental health and social care professionals make decisions around whether to detain people with mental disorders under the Mental Health Act or the Mental Capacity Act – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Her research uncovered a range of understandings and misunderstandings which impact on practice.

People who have experienced trauma face a number of barriers to accessing health care. Deborah Fenney explains why a trauma-informed approach is essential for supporting a group that currently face poor health outcomes.

New Zealander Martin Hefford reflects on his time in the UK and ponders the questions about primary care reform that arose from his conversations with those working in primary care, secondary care and the third sector.

Ambitions to improve the quality of mental health care will fail if they are not accompanied by plans to address staff shortages. Helen Gilburt looks at the effect of staff shortages on staff, patients and quality of care.

As this year’s party conference season comes to a close, what have we learned about the main parties’ priorities for health and social care? Richard Murray weighs up the key commitments, from funding and the NHS workforce to social care reform.

Rising demand for services and systemic staff shortages are putting NHS staff under increasing pressure. What impact is this having on sickness absence rates in the NHS, and what can be done to reduce the pressure on staff?

Julia Thrift, Projects Director for the Town & Country Planning Association, explores the relationship between town planning and population health, and how the lessons of NHS England’s Healthy New Towns programme should inform future developments to ensure people are able healthier lives and reduce health inequalities.

As NHS England publish the key learnings from its Healthy New Towns Programme, Alex Baylis explains why The King’s Fund has been involved in this work and how it links with our vision for population health.

How will mental health fit into primary care networks? With primary care providing the majority of NHS mental health support, Beccy Baird and Andy Bell from the Centre for Mental Health look at the opportunities and challenges these networks will face in improving the mental as well as physical health of the communities they serve.

Emily, a senior peer support worker at Haven, explains the vital role peer support workers play in supporting people through mental health crisis.

A new five-year contract for general practice has been announced, with an increase in funding and plans to transform GP services. Beccy Baird and Anna Charles give their take on the key things you need to know.

How reliable is the data collected about detentions under the Mental Health Act? Veena Raleigh looks at the data quality issues and their implications.

With the publication of the government’s Green Paper on child and adolescent mental health, Jill Roberts looks at how it tackles the issues around inequalities.

Chris Naylor considers whether public mental health is being prioritised in a world of thinly stretched public health budgets.

In this guest blog, speech and language therapist Joanne Fillingham makes the case for a stronger leadership role for allied health professionals (AHPs).