Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and carried out by researchers at King’s College London and the University of Surrey, the study – which involved 363 single people who were homeless in England – found those using regular GP practices (Usual Care GP model) saw their GP on average just 5.8 times during the 12 months study period, compared with 18.6 times for those who attended specialist health centres designed primarily for people who were homeless. This is despite no statistically significant differences in the presence of physical or mental health problems between the study groups.  

Regular GP practices were also significantly less likely to provide continuity of care for substance misuse issues, with just 15% of their participants with drug problems receiving this help, in contrast to 85% of such participants in specialist health centres and 56% in specialist GP practices.   

More generally, regular GP participants were less satisfied with the service they received: 56% said they had confidence and trust in their doctor or nurse when last seen – far lower than the proportion who said the same among those who attended specialist GPs (81%) or specialist health centres (82%).  

Staff at regular GP practices reported insufficient resources prevented them from working in more proactive ways with patients who were homeless, with those attending these practices also reporting longer waiting times. 

However, regular GP practices scored relatively high for health screening – almost as high as specialist health centres – and two sites had each developed a health screening template specifically for patients who were homeless, which was found to be effective. 

The relatively poor performance of regular GP practices for some outcomes “raises questions” about their role in providing health care to patients who are homeless.

 When these practices might require additional support, the researchers say. 

Published in the journal Health and Social Care Delivery Research, the study compared the effectiveness of four models of primary care services across ten sites. These included:

1. Specialist health centres for people who are homeless.
2. Mobile homeless health teams.
3. Specialist GP services (regular GP practices with some services specifically for patients who are homeless).
4. Everyday GP practices with no specialist services for this patient group.  

Among the four models, researchers found specialist health centres and GP sites to be the most effective overall. They provided flexible drop-in clinics and longer-than-usual GP appointments and worked closely with mental health, alcohol and drug services, hostels, day centres, and street outreach teams. These are all factors likely to have contributed to their success.  

The study also found that although mental health problems were prevalent among participants, with 91% reporting such issues, staff across all four models of care reported insufficient mental health services in their area, which affected the help they could provide patients. 

While 82% of study participants described needing dental treatment, these needs were often unaddressed, even though dental services specifically for people who were homeless or vulnerable were available at or near seven of the sites included in the study. 

The researchers say this can be explained by above-average levels of dental anxiety among study participants and poor integration between primary health care services and dental services.  

The research is the first to provide evidence about the effectiveness of each model of health care for single people who are homeless – a patient group with more significant health needs and a far lower life expectancy than the general population.   

Dr Maureen Crane, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London, said:  

“Regular GPs are the main primary health care provider for many people who are homeless, particularly outside large cities. It is therefore essential that they have the resources to support patients who are homeless, many of whom have multiple and complex health needs and find it hard to engage with services. The benefits of introducing a ‘homelessness lead’ into these GP practices to coordinate care for patients who are homeless should also be considered.”  

Professor Kathy Rowan, Director of the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme, which funded the study, said:  

“Homeless people are among the most under-served and most vulnerable in our communities and often have very complex health needs. This is an important study and the first to compare, comprehensively, the impact of different models of primary care provision for homeless people. This study has the potential to inform improvements in the organisation and delivery of primary care services in order to meet the complex needs of homeless people, going forwards.” 

Let’s keep the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system as it can lead to suicides and ruin lives and chances of recovery.

A policeman from Devon and Cornwall police has convinced his bosses to keep those who are mentally ill out of the criminal justice system.

PC Del Allerton-Baldwin has embarked on a project to draw up a criminality flow chart, signposting police and health trust staff through scenarios of potentially criminal behavior on mental health wards towards appropriate action.

It is now in every police station in Cornwall and each mental health unit for use on the frontline.

News of this is welcomed by Cornish residents after the Guardian reported in an article that the Metropolitan police received record-breaking numbers of phone calls relating to mental health every five minutes last year, an escalating level of demand caused by NHS services struggling to cope.

The number of calls handled by the force in which someone was concerned about a person’s mental health hit a record 115,000 in the last year: on average 315 a day, or about 13 an hour.

Volumes have since grown by nearly a third since 2011-12, according to data released under freedom of information legislation, and officers fear the demand for help from the public will continue to increase.

PC Allerton-Baldwin’s research included spending time on the wards in Bodmin talking to patients, their families, and trust staff, to gain a comprehensive perspective.

Not long ago as many as 500 people a year used to go in the police cells in the county.

Now 250 people are taken to Longreach House at Barncose Hospital as their place of safety.

In the past year, only three of them went into police custody.

The police officer now works out of Wadebridge Police station and will soon have a laptop and a permanent base at Bodmin Hospital where he can continue his hands-on work while also contributing to police policies, not only throughout Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset but setting national precedents too.

This will be beneficial to the NHS because it will help take some of the pressure off them and a policeman who takes an interest in mental health is a good thing especially when mental health patients come into contact with the law.

Patients will benefit because those who come into contact with the law due will no longer be locked in cells.

Instead to they will be taken to a place where they can receive the help and care they require.

Let us know your thoughts about keeping the mentally ill out of the criminal justice system?

Have you or your loved ones received a criminal record due to the crimes you committed due to mental health?

Comment below and join in the discussions on our social media channels.

The police shouldn’t get away with killing or assaulting mental health sufferers!

Recently there has been a lot of press coverage about people with mental health issues coming into contact with the legal system and being mistreated before being detained in police cells because there aren’t enough hospital beds to treat them.

Is it right that the police in this country can go around and use mentally ill people to bully and beat up?

What’s worse is the fact that even when the police are caught, unless you have money the IPCC stick up for their own people and lie.

Just to prove I’m not some bitter blogger who wants to slate the police, here are some cases where this has happened:

A recent case that springs to mind are a gentleman with Schizophrenia who was killed by police from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary while in a cell.

I was appalled to hear that the jury found the Police not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

A custody sergeant and two detention officers have been found not guilty of killing a man with mental health problems in police custody.

In 2012, 32-year-old Thomas Orchard was arrested and brought to Heavitree Road police station in Exeter, Devon October 2012.

Mr. Orchard, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was held down, handcuffed and a large webbing belt designed to restrain arms and legs was placed across his face.

Custody Sergeant Jan Kingshott, 45, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 39, and Michael Marsden, 56, insisted their actions were proportionate and lawful.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court found them not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence following a six-week re-trial.

He had not taken his medication for seven days and told a mental health professional he believed he was a vampire and should stay inside during the day.

Mr. Orchard was dealt with by seven police officers and fully mechanically restrained – with handcuffs and straps around his legs – before being placed in a small police van.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Mr. Orchard should not have been placed in the van as it was too small for non-compliant detainees.

None of the defendants recognised that Mr. Orchard was mentally ill and did not check how long he had been physically restrained for – a total of 18 minutes by that point.

If the police are trained to deal with mental health, how did they miss this?

The police officer claimed that Orchard appeared to attempt to bite an officer as he was taken through the door into the holding area of the custody suite.

However, the video footage which was shown on TV saw no evidence of Thomas being violent or a threat.

Mr. Tansley called for an emergency restraint belt (ERB) and wrapped it around Mr. Orchard’s face.

Devon and Cornwall Police had authorised the US-made restraint device for use across the face to prevent spitting or biting.

Police officers should not have the authority to place items onto someone’s face and why were seven officers needed to restrain one person?

Aren’t they specially trained?

The court heard that he shouted “Let go” or “Get off” a total of seven times from 11.24am to 11.26am, struggling violently a minute later.

He was then freed from the restraints and left alone in the locked cell at 11.29am.

CCTV footage showed him lying motionless on the mattress for 12 minutes before officers re-entered the cell at 11.41am.

By that time, Mr. Orchard was not breathing and had suffered a cardiac arrest.

He died in the hospital on October 10.

 

Below is a breakdown of deaths in police custody (or following other forms of contact with the police, as well as vehicular pursuits and road traffic incidents) since 1990, by calendar year and type.

Total deaths in police custody or otherwise following contact with the police, England & Wales 1990-date

Type Metropolitan Police Other forces Total
Custody 265 786 1051
Pursuit 47 320 367
RTI 20 104 124
Shooting 25 39 64
All deaths 357 1249 1606

Other deaths in Police custody include:

Prison officers acted unlawfully in restraining an inmate who later died

Teenage prisoner killed himself after staff failed to recognise the history of self-harm

Mobile footage shows police detaining Liverpool teen before death in custody – Video

Death of black teenager sparks protests in Liverpool

An NHS inquiry report shows that from 2010 to 2013, there were 367 deaths from non-natural causes of adults with mental health conditions while detained in psychiatric wards and police custody.

A further 295 adults died in prison, many of whom had mental health conditions.

The inquiry found that the same mistakes are being repeated across prisons, police cells, and psychiatric hospitals.

This includes, for example, the failure to appropriately monitor patients and prisoners at serious risk of suicide, even in cases where their records recommend constant or frequent observation.

It also includes failure to remove “ligature points” in psychiatric hospitals, which are known to be often used in suicide attempts.

Another example of police cover-ups was the Hillsborough case, where 96 people died at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield back in 1987.

In May(2016) last year families of the deceased finally got their justice 27-years after the incident when the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report, which concluded that a major cover-up had taken place in an effort by police to avoid the blame for what happened.

Yes, the police have a job to do by bringing people in to investigate potential crimes, but them the right to assault or heavy-handedly killing mental health sufferers.

Police should not have the right to do this and get away with it, and I feel that giving them the power to use tasers is an absurd idea because the public will feel the need to protect themselves and will be carrying around weapons themselves.

There’s one thing carrying a weapon, but what if it used for the wrong people?

The worst thing is that the Police lie and cover up their wrongdoings instead of telling the truth.

If a member of the public lies to the police, they get charged with Perverting the Course of Justice, but if the police lie to their bosses, their bosses cover up for them.

If you or a loved one with mental health has ever experienced being mistreated by the police, let us know.

What are your thoughts on the evidence of the police killing mental health sufferers?

You don’t have to reveal your real name, but telling your story can really help us prevent this sort of corruption from happening again.

Email admin@looneychickblog.co.uk, comment below, or join in the discussions on our social media channels.

 

 

Today we were all awake pretty early because we were all looking forward to our annual Santa Train trip for the second time.

Every Year my mum, sister, and I take the kids to see Santa on the train. The trip takes about an hour and a half.

The train leaves Buckfastleigh and goes to Totnes and back again.

We arrived at Buckfastleigh station around 11.30.

We went into the shop to look at the South Devon Railway, Hornby trains, and Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise.

The kids picked out some balls for the Christmas tree with James and Percy on from Thomas the Tank Engine.

We sat down and had a nice cup of hot chocolate before boarding the train.

When we boarded the train a member of staff took us to our seats.

Not long after we sat down and left the station, the staff came round with biscuits and fruit shoots for the children and mince pies and a choice of non-alcoholic or alcoholic mulled wine.

My sister and I decided to have a glass of alcoholic mulled wine and my mum had the non-alcoholic punch.

After consuming my mince pie and mulled wine, it was time to take the kids to Santa’s Grotto.

My sister and I took the kids through several train carriages to get to Santa in a dark room at the end of the train.

The windows were covered up with curtains.

The kids were asked by Santa their age and then asked if they would like their photo taken with Santa.

I quickly took a few pictures because there was a queue of people waiting behind us.

When we got back to our seats, the kids unwrapped their presents.

My niece received a soft lamb and my nephew received a fire engine, which makes noise. (So much for peace this Christmas!)

I was disappointed because the kids had been building up to this trip for a few months and for the money that we paid, it was very much like a production line, and the kid’s time and interaction with Santa was limited.

Once we sat down, Dr. Foster came round for a few minutes and mum won a sweet for remembering his rhyme.

Unlike, last year he didn’t stay for long and there was no Christmas music playing in the background.

When we arrived in Totnes there were a few bookstalls and we watched the train come in to take up back to South Devon railway at Buckfastleigh.

Some children were allowed to climb into the front of the steam train, however, there were lots of children who were also waiting to have a look.

On the back way back there wasn’t much entertainment.

Last year there was Christmas music playing in the background and more carol singing.

This year, there was one song (We Wish You a Merry Christmas), followed by a brief visit from the magician.

We went back to the café for some food, but when we went to put our order in we were told that they had stopped serving food at 2.30pm and the time was 2.40pm.

We were about to leave the table we were sat at when the cooks came over and apologized and said that they were happy to take our order.

We ordered toasties and cheesy chips for the children and some drinks for all of us.

The young lads who served us also apologized for telling us that they had stopped ordering food and that they didn’t realize that they were serving until 3pm.

Before we left the kids went on the Thomas ride on the train and the James ride on the train outside the café and shop.

When we arrived home the kids had a pig-out, had a bath, danced around the room to Christmas tunes, I read them a story (Christmas in Puddle Lane), which our mum used to read to me and my sister when we were younger and they finally went to bed.

We aren’t sure whether we will go on the same Santa Train trip next year because my niece will be 7 years old and she says that she wants to go on the Polar Express trip next year.

However, my nephew will only be 4, so we will have to wait and see what we think next year.

For the last couple of years, we had also been going to Buckfastleigh for the Thomas the Tank Engine train ride, my nephew is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and wants to go and my niece says she also wants to go again but my sister doesn’t want to go, so again, we will have to see in a few months time when the tickets go on sale.

Have you been on a Santa Train Trip this year?

Have you taken the kids to visit Santa?

Send a tweet to@AdminChick.