A joint inspection report examined the treatment of offenders with mental disorders. Although concerns about individuals' mental health were followed up in almost all cases, communication between the criminal justice organizations could be made more systematic and effective.
Source: A Joint Inspection on Work Prior to Sentence with Offenders with Mental Disorders, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, HMI Court Administration, and HMI Constabulary
Links: Report | Joint press release
Date: 2009-Dec
The government published a 10-year mental health strategy for England, with the twin aims of improving the mental health and well-being of the population, and improving the quality and accessibility of services for people with poor mental health. It set out plans involving a wide range of agencies to move towards a society where people understood that their mental well-being was as important as their physical health if they were to live their lives to the full. It described some of the factors that affected well-being, and some everyday strategies for preserving and boosting it. It also set out the benefits, including economic benefits, of doing so.
Source: New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health, Department of Health
Links: Strategy | Hansard | Mind press release | Rethink press release | MHF press release | Sainsbury Centre press release | YoungMinds press release | St Mungos press release | Turning Point press release | Sane press release | Samaritans press release | RCN press release | NASUWT press release | Community Care report | Inside Housing report | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Dec
A report said that the number of teenagers with mental health problems might have started to decline after an 'alarming' 25-year increase.
Source: Ann Hagell, Time Trends in Adolescent Well-Being: Update 2009, Nuffield Foundation
Links: Report | Nuffield Foundation press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2009-Dec
A report called for action to help people affected by mental illness become more involved in politics. People with mental health problems wanted to play their part in the democratic process, but many lacked confidence to do so because of the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Source: Rethink Politics, Rethink
Links: Rethink press release
Date: 2009-Dec
A report said that mental health problems were likely to increase as the recession continued, through increased debt problems, family breakdown, and job losses. It called for a redesign of the 'pathways' used to care for service users; improvements in the quality and value for money of services; and the encouragement of initiatives that would save money elsewhere in the system (such as investing in mental health diversion schemes for people with mental health problems who came into contact with the criminal justice system).
Source: Mental Health and the Economic Downturn: National priorities and NHS solutions, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London School of Economics and Mental Health Network/NHS Confederation (web publication only)
Links: Report | RCPsych press release | SCMH press release
Date: 2009-Nov
A report said that 1 in 2 adults in debt might also have a mental health problem.
Source: Chris Fitch, Sarah Hamilton, Paul Basset and Ryan Davey, Debt and Mental Health: What do we know? What should we do?, Royal College of Psychiatrists (020 7235 2351) and Rethink
Links: Report | RCPsych press release
Date: 2009-Oct
An article compared and contrasted the experience of attempts to introduce mental health legislation in Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.
Source: Paul Cairney, 'The "British policy style" and mental health: beyond the headlines', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 38 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Oct
The Northern Ireland Executive announced (following consultation) that it had decided to include provisions related to both mental capacity and mental health in a single piece of legislation.
Source: Press release 10 September 2009, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: NIE press release | RCPsych press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Sep
The Court of Appeal ruled that people with mental illnesses were protected from discrimination by the European Convention on Human Rights. The term 'other status' in the Convention included discrimination on the basis of a personal characteristic including mental illness or other mental disability.
Source: R (N) v Secretary of State for Health, and R (E) v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Court of Appeal 24 July 2009
Links: Judgement | EHRC press release | Rethink press release
Date: 2009-Aug
The government began consultation on a strategy to improve mental well-being for the whole population. It focused on: the need to prevent as well as treat mental health problems, and to promote mental health and well-being; strengthening the focus on social inclusion, and tackling stigma and discrimination wherever they occurred; expanding the principle of early intervention to improve long-term outcomes; ensuring care was based on individuals' needs and wishes; and multi-agency commissioning/collaboration to achieve a joint approach between local authorities, the National Health Service, and others, mirrored by cross-government collaboration.
Source: New Horizons: Towards a shared vision for mental health, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document | DH press release | ADASS press release | SCMH press release | MHF press release | Rethink press release | Turning Point press release | RCN press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Jul
An annual report examined suicide and homicide data for people with mental illness in England and Wales. The number of people killed by individuals suffering from mental illness increased between 1997 and 2005, and there was also an increase in the number of homicides committed by people with mental illness at the time of the offence – from 54 in 1997 to over 70 in 2004 and 2005. But there had been a fall in suicide by mental health patients overall, and a continued fall in suicide by in-patients.
Source: Annual Report: England and Wales – July 2009, National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness/University of Manchester (0161 2750700)
Links: Report | Manchester University press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jul
A report said that women accounted for over two-thirds of the growth in demand for National Health Service specialist mental health services over the period 2003-2008. It also highlighted the higher proportions of people from minority-ethnic groups who were in contact with the services, and who spent time in hospital for mental health conditions.
Source: Second Report on Experimental Statistics from Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) Annual Returns, 2003-2008, NHS Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | NHS press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A think-tank report said that mental health problems in children and teenagers had a significant impact on their chances of success in employment and family life as well as contact with the criminal justice system. People with conduct problems in adolescence were at double the risk of leaving school with no qualifications. They were also more likely to be out of work or low paid, to become teenage parents, and to be divorced later in life.
Source: Marcus Richards and Rosemary Abbott, Childhood Mental Health and Life Chances in Post-war Britain: Insights from three national birth cohort studies, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-May
A report summarized international research evidence on the experiences of adults with mental health problems in the justice system.
Source: KM Research and Consultancy Ltd, Access to Justice: Evidence of the experiences of adults with mental health problems, Research Report 6/09, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-May
A themed section of a journal examined mental health and human rights.
Source: Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2 Links: Table of contents
Date: 2009-Apr
An article examined the issue of smoking in relation to mental health, focusing on the right to dignity and respect. The public health agenda on smoking had involved the mobilization of stigma to persuade people to give up: this strategy risked adding to the stigma and process of 'othering' that many mental health service users already experienced, and was also likely to be ineffective in reducing smoking rates, particularly among heavy smokers.
Source: Joanne Warner, 'Smoking, stigma and human rights in mental health: going up in smoke?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
A report highlighted a long-term increase in the rate of anxiety disorders in the general population. High levels of fear and anxiety were strongly linked to depression as well as a range of physical health problems. Anxiety was associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, and poor diet. The report called for a nationwide campaign to protect the public's mental health against anxiety problems.
Source: Ed Halliwell, In the Face of Fear: How fear and anxiety affect our health and society, and what we can do about it, Mental Health Foundation (020 7803 1100)
Links: Report | MHF press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Apr
An article examined the 'psychiatric survivor' movement, comprising groups of psychiatric patients who had campaigned for political and social rights in addition to a singular form of 'right', referred to as 'experiential'. It clarified the meaning of the 'experiential right' and, drawing upon aspects of social theory, considered how it was to be understood in the context of the 'three generations' schema (political, social, and 'solidarity' rights).
Source: Mark Cresswell, 'Psychiatric survivors and experiential rights', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
An article examined New Labour's human rights and mental health policy.
Source: Mick Carpenter, 'A third wave, not a third way? New Labour, human rights and mental health in historical context', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
The government announced that it would publish, later in 2009, a 'New Horizons' strategy on mental health. The strategy would emphasize the need for a preventative approach to good mental health and well-being, while at the same time seeking to improve services for people who had mental health problems. The new strategy would build on the National Service Framework for mental health (which had come to an end in 2009).
Source: Press release 12 April 2009, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | St Mungos/Crisis press release
Date: 2009-Apr
A report said that poor mental health experienced by individuals was a significant cause of wider social and health problems, including: low levels of educational achievement and work productivity; higher levels of physical disease and mortality; and violence, relationship breakdown, and poor community cohesion. There was overwhelming evidence that social inequality was a key cause of stress, and also exacerbated the stress of coping with material deprivation.
Source: Lynne Friedli, Mental Health, Resilience and Inequalities, World Health Organization (+45 39 17 17 17)
Links: Report | Summary | MHF press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Mar
An article examined whether social capital fostered resilience among individuals who were at a high risk of developing mental distress in adulthood. Results suggested that social capital was not associated with a reduction in the probability that high-risk individuals would experience mental distress, while one form of social capital – membership in groups and associations – appeared to play a protective role among low-risk individuals. Overall, the research suggested that policies aimed at increasing social capital would not be able to reduce the gap in mental health between disadvantaged individuals and the rest of the population.
Source: Francesca Borgonovi and M. Carmen Huerta, 'Adversity in childhood and mental health in adulthood: the role of social capital', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Jan
A survey found that although the majority of young people were relatively content, there was a significant core of young people for whom life had little or no purpose – with those not in education, employment or training (NEET) most likely to feel this way. More than 1 in 10 (12 per cent) of young people aged 16-25 felt that life was meaningless; more than one-quarter (27 per cent) admitted that they were 'often' or 'always' down or depressed.
Source: The Prince's Trust YouGov Youth Index, Prince's Trust (020 7543 1234)
Links: Report | Prince's Trust press release | Action for Children press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Jan
A report provided data on the prevalence of both treated and untreated psychiatric disorder among those aged 16 and over in England. The proportion of women (aged 16-64) suffering a common mental disorder – typically, depression or anxiety – increased from 19.1 per cent in 1993 to 21.5 per cent (1 in 5 of the adult female population) in 2007. The rate in men did not change significantly.
Source: Sally McManus, Howard Meltzer, Traolach Brugha, Paul Bebbington, Rachel Jenkins (eds.), Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England, 2007: Results of a household survey, NHS Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | NHS press release | Leicester University press release | MHF press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report | Womensgrid report
Date: 2009-Jan
The Northern Ireland Executive began consultation on proposals (following the Bamford review) for the introduction of new mental capacity legislation and the modernization of existing mental health legislation, both supported by an overarching set of human rights principles.
Source: Legislative Framework for Mental Capacity and Mental Health Legislation in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Consultation document | NIE press release
Date: 2009-Jan
The High Court ruled that the Crown Prosecution Service was wrong to drop a prosecution where the victim had a history of mental illness, and was not considered to be a credible witness as a result.
Source: B, R (on the application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions, High Court 27 January 2009
Links: Text of judgement | RADAR press release | Mind press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Jan