Countermeasures for Healthcare Disruptions During Lockdowns

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Benjamin LOW Chu Yuan ◽  
Patricia YAP-TAN
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Front Line

Abstract Many countries did not have alternative healthcare arrangements during their initial COVID-19 lockdowns. This is surprising as partial and full lockdowns have been previously used to manage terrorism and the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003. This paper examines how lockdowns disrupt normal healthcare services and discusses countermeasures that can be used during lockdowns regardless of the emergency that engendered them. Solutions are discussed pragmatically with front-line clinicians, healthcare managers, and policymakers in mind. Mental health services are used as a case in point with generalizable lessons for other healthcare specialties.

scholarly journals Understanding barriers to accessing mental health services for newcomers to Canada using Peterborough, Ontario, as an illustrative example

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurun Layla Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Accurate Information

The quality of an individual’s mental health has a significant impact on their quality of life, as well as on the cost to society. Regular access to mental health services can help mitigate the risk factors of developing mental illnesses. This paper examines barriers to accessing mental health services, using the community of Peterborough, Ontario, as an example. Social, economic, and cultural barriers impact help-seeking amongst immigrants, putting them at a higher risk of developing mental disorders. The social determinants of mental health can be useful when developing policies aimed at improving utilization of mental healthcare services. Policy makers need to first focus on collecting accurate information on the population, and then developing targeted solutions to eliminate barriers such as language and employment that prevent help-seeking in immigrants.

The beginning of a structural reform:Reorganising the front line of a mental health service

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Tobin ◽  
Grances Yeo ◽  
Luxin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Front Line

National and State priorities for mental health services have directed emphasis towards earlyintervention and prevention. One of the key priorities is to ensure that entry to mental healthservices is efficient, effective and accountable. This study describes the process of restructuringthe front line of a large and complex mental health service. Adopting the total qualitymanagement approach, all stakeholders in the service collaboratively developed a single setof protocols and guidelines to achieve standardisation of documentation, assessment of risksand urgency, and to improve the overall quality of the service.

scholarly journals Old age mental health services in Southern Balkans: Features, geospatial distribution, current needs, and future perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Alexopoulos ◽  
A. Novotni ◽  
G. Novotni ◽  
T. Vorvolakos ◽  
A. Vratsista ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Teaching ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Term Care

Abstract Background Healthcare services are increasingly confronted with challenges related to old age mental disorders. The survey aimed to provide an overview of existing psychogeriatric services in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and North Macedonia. Methods After identification of psychogeriatric units across the four countries, their head physicians were asked to provide data on their clinical, teaching, and research activity, as well as staff composition. Moreover, the attitudes of head physicians to current needs and future service development were explored. Results A total of 15 psychogeriatric units were identified (3 in Bulgaria, 8 in Greece, and 4 in North Macedonia). Results show wide variation regarding the location, team size and composition, service availability, numbers of patients attending, and inpatient treatment length. Most head physicians underscored the urgent need for breakthroughs in the graduate and postgraduate education in psychogeriatrics of medical and nonmedical professionals, as well as in the interconnection of their units with community primary healthcare services and long-term care facilities for seniors via telemedicine. They would welcome the development of national standards for psychogeriatric units, potentially embodying clear pointers for action. A number of head physicians advocated the development of nationwide old age mental health registries. Conclusions Regional disparities in resources and services for seniors’ mental health services were unveiled. These data may enrich the dialogue on optimizing psychogeriatric services through planning future cross-border collaborations mainly based on telemedicine services, especially in the era of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and training/education in psychogeriatrics of mental health professionals.

Bridging the skills gap: apprentice assistant practitioners having an impact in mental healthcare services

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Morris ◽  
Patricia Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Assistant Practitioner

It is important to have a well-trained workforce and this is especially so in mental healthcare services. This article is the first of four looking at mental healthcare services and the apprentice assistant practitioner (AAP). The background to the introduction of assistant practitioners (AP), both in generic terms and more specifically their potential in mental health provision, will be explored. The present situation in mental health services will be examined, along with how the AP role might help mitigate some of the critical challenges faced in this area of health. The development of higher apprenticeships will be discussed in relation to standardisation of the AP role and how universally recognised apprenticeship standards around knowledge, behaviours and values will aid a more consistent understanding of the AP position and their consequent deployment in services.

scholarly journals Are specialist psychiatric services losing the PbR race?: commentary on… clustering in mental health payment by results

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-236
Author(s):  
Vishwa Radhakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Specialist Services ◽  
Health Payment

SummaryPayment by results (PbR) is a payment platform for healthcare services. Introduced to acute physical healthcare services in England in 2003–2004, the system has continued to expand and is currently being implemented in acute mental health services. Owing to the variations and complexities of the patients who access specialist psychiatric services, existing clusters do not always accurately capture their needs. The development of PbR tools specific to psychiatric subspecialties is ongoing, but might not be available in the short term. The funding of acute mental health services through PbR might have funding implications for specialist services such as psychiatry of intellectual disability.

How Can Guidance Recommendations Contribute to Better Mental Health?

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S12-S12
Author(s):  
W. Gaebel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Healthcare Provision ◽  
Distributed Resources ◽  
Deutschland Gmbh

IntroductionIn European countries, the quality of mental healthcare services is often limited due to scarce and inequitable distributed resources, and inefficient use of existing resources. Against this background, the EPA Guidance provides recommendations on how to optimize quality of mental healthcare for all European countries.ObjectivesProvision of guidance recommendations in order to support optimization and harmonization of mental healthcare services in European countries.MethodsBy means of evidence and consensus-based methods EPA guidance papers are developed by experts in psychiatry and related fields [1].ResultsAs of 2012, five EPA guidance series have been developed and published [2]. They focus on various aspects of mental healthcare and clinical situations that have not been covered by medical guidelines yet but are considered important to deliver high quality mental healthcare. Papers deal amongst others with topics relating to quality assurance of mental health services, as quality of mental health service structures and processes, and building trust in mental health services.ConclusionsEPA guidance recommendations can improve mental healthcare provision and thereby contribute to better mental health of persons receiving mental healthcare. For this purpose, recommendations need to be widely disseminated and implemented in European countries.Disclosure of interestUnterstützung bei Symposien/Symposia Support− Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Neuss− Aristo Pharma GmbH, Berlin− Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Bad Homburg− Servier Deutschland GmbH, München− Fakultätsmitglied/Faculty Member− Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation (LINF), Dänemark

scholarly journals Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services among the Elderly in the Rural of Vietnam: A Cross Sectional Survey in 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863292110260
Author(s):  
Nguyen Hang Nguyet Van ◽  
Nguyen Thi Khanh Huyen ◽  
Mai Thi Hue ◽  
Nguyen Thanh Luong ◽  
Pham Quoc Thanh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Important Indicator

While the burden of neurological and mental disorders has been drastically increased in Vietnam, the current mental healthcare services do not meet the public demand. In order to determine perceived barriers to the use of mental health services, we conducted a cross-sectional study on 376 elderly people from a rural district in Hanoi, Vietnam. We found that depression may be an important indicator of the need for formal and informal community and home care mental health services. Barriers to mental healthcare access were categorized into 7 groups namely stigma, emotional concerns, participation restrictions, service satisfaction, time constraints, geographic and financial conditions, and availability of services. The most significant barriers are the limited availability of and accessibility to health professionals and services in rural areas. Our study highlights the urgent efforts that need to be made in order to enhance availability of mental healthcare services in rural areas of Vietnam.

Self-casting and alter-casting: Healthcare professionals’ boundary work in response to peer workers

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212110485
Author(s):  
Margaretha Järvinen ◽  
Malene Lue Kessing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Boundary Work ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Recovery Model ◽  
Recovery Orientation ◽  
Professional Boundary

Within mental health services, the recovery model has been a guiding philosophy over the past decades. This model stresses ‘person-centred care’ and focuses on assisting service users to live a meaningful and hopeful life even if their illness has not been cured. As part of the recovery orientation, ‘peer workers’ (PWs), i.e. people with lived experiences of mental illness, are increasingly employed within mental health services. In this article, the authors explore how these changes open up frontiers and set in motion boundary work and identity discussions among healthcare professionals. Empirically, the article draws on qualitative data – interviews with healthcare professionals and observations of meetings – collected in mental healthcare services in Denmark. Theoretically, the article combines literature on professional boundary work with theories on ‘self-casting’, ‘alter-casting’ and ‘othering’. Analysing two sets of demarcations – those between healthcare professionals and PWs, and those between professionals and patients – the study shows how the recovery model leads to defensive boundary work as well as an opening up of boundaries.

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