scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on telepsychiatry at the service and individual patient level across two UK NHS mental health Trusts

2021 ◽  
pp. ebmental-2021-300287
Author(s):  
James SW Hong ◽  
Rebecca Sheriff ◽  
Katharine Smith ◽  
Anneka Tomlinson ◽  
Fathi Saad ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe effects of COVID-19 on the shift to remote consultations remain to be properly investigated.ObjectiveTo quantify the extent, nature and clinical impact of the use of telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with the data in the same period of the 2 years before the outbreak.MethodsWe used deidentified electronic health records routinely collected from two UK mental health Foundation Trusts (Oxford Health (OHFT) and Southern Health (SHFT)) between January and September in 2018, 2019 and 2020. We considered three outcomes: (1) service activity, (2) in-person versus remote modalities of consultation and (3) clinical outcomes using Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) data. HoNOS data were collected from two cohorts of patients (cohort 1: patients with ≥1 HoNOS assessment each year in 2018, 2019 and 2020; cohort 2: patients with ≥1 HoNOS assessment each year in 2019 and 2020), and analysed in clusters using superclasses (namely, psychotic, non-psychotic and organic), which are used to assess overall healthcare complexity in the National Health Service. All statistical analyses were done in Python.FindingsMental health service activity in 2020 increased in all scheduled community appointments (by 15.4% and 5.6% in OHFT and SHFT, respectively). Remote consultations registered a 3.5-fold to 6-fold increase from February to June 2020 (from 4685 to a peak of 26 245 appointments in OHFT and from 7117 to 24 987 appointments in SHFT), with post-lockdown monthly averages of 23 030 and 22 977 remote appointments/month in OHFT and SHFT, respectively. Video consultations comprised up to one-third of total telepsychiatric services per month from April to September 2020. For patients with dementia, non-attendance rates at in-person appointments were higher than remote appointments (17.2% vs 3.9%). The overall HoNOS cluster value increased only in the organic superclass (clusters 18–21, n=174; p<0.001) from 2019 to 2020, suggesting a specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population of patients.Conclusions and clinical implicationsThe rapid shift to remote service delivery has not reached some groups of patients who may require more tailored management with telepsychiatry.

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2892-2902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dee MacDonald ◽  
Marian Barnes ◽  
Mike Crawford ◽  
Edward Omeni ◽  
Aaron Wilson ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Allan ◽  
Kelly Davis-Steel ◽  
Fran Dunn ◽  
Valerie J Dunn

Most UK child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) support young people up to the age of 17/18, at which point they are discharged, or transition to an adult service. This transition is often difficult for young people, as they also face the complex physical and psychosocial changes of adolescence. Transition from CAMHS is often poorly managed, with negative outcomes for young people. Improved preparation may improve both outcomes and experience. We worked with 17 young people and staff from three NHS mental health foundation trusts to co-produce the CAMHS Transition Preparation Programme (TPP), deliverable in routine NHS settings. We took a creative, participatory approach to maximize young people's involvement in the research. Young people steered the direction of the work, and were involved in decision-making and dissemination both nationally and within their trusts. In this commentary, two young participant–researchers and one NHS staff member describe the project from their perspectives.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anupam Bhardwaj ◽  
Anna Moore ◽  
Rudolf N. Cardinal ◽  
Carol Bradley ◽  
Lauren Cross ◽  
...  

The Covid-19 crisis necessitated rapid adoption of remote consultations across National Health Service (NHS) child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This study aimed to understand practitioners’ experiences of rapid implementation of remote consultations across CAMHS in one NHS trust in the east of England. Data were collected through a brief questionnaire documenting clinicians’ experiences following remote delivery of services. The questionnaire began before ‘lockdown’ and focused on assessment consultations (n = 102) as part of a planned move to virtual assessment. As the roll-out of remote consultations was extended at lockdown, we extended the questionnaire to include all remote clinical contacts (n = 202). Despite high levels of initial concern, clinicians’ reports were positive overall; importantly, however, their experiences varied by team. When restrictions on face-to-face working are lifted, a blended approach of remote and face-to-face service delivery is recommended to optimise access and capacity while retaining effective and safe care.


Author(s):  
Robert Stewart ◽  
Evangelia Martin ◽  
Ioannis Bakolis ◽  
Matthew Broadbent ◽  
Nicola Byrne ◽  
...  

This study sought to provide an early description of mental health service activity before and after national implementation of social distancing for COVID-19. A time series analysis was carried out of daily service-level activity on data from a large mental healthcare provider in southeast London, from 01.02.2020 to 31.03.2020, comparing activity before and after 16.03.2020: i) inpatient admissions, discharges and numbers, ii) contact numbers and daily caseloads (Liaison, Home Treatment Teams, Community Mental Health Teams); iii) numbers of deaths for past and present patients. Daily face-to-face contact numbers fell for liaison, home treatment and community services with incomplete compensatory rises in non-face-to-face contacts. Daily caseloads fell for all services, apart from working age and child/adolescent community teams. Inpatient numbers fell 13.6% after 16th March, and daily numbers of deaths increased by 61.8%.


Author(s):  
Emily Satinsky ◽  
Corine Driessens ◽  
David Crepaz-Keay ◽  
Antonis Kousoulis

BackgroundRecently, opportunities have been created to link health records with data routinely collected by social and economic departments. The ADRC-E (Southampton), in collaboration with the Mental Health Foundation has taken advantage of these opportunities to request information on a retrospective cohort to examine the effects of community mental health services on users in England before and after the financial crisis of 2008. ObjectiveTo increase transparency the Mental Health Foundation assessed mental health service users’ perceptions regarding current practice with the secondary use of their administrative data. MethodsThis three-hour focus group study identified mental health service users’ thoughts around the word ‘data’, data sharing and data protection governance. Findings Focus group participants were generally happy to share their health data. Trust was an important factor mentioned in relation to data sharing. Participants expressed a desire for improved transparency around the use of administrative data for research purposes. When discussing safeguards the participants all agreed that they would feel more comfortable sharing their health data if there were better patient education and feedback systems in place. ConclusionMental health service providers should strive to inform individuals using their services that their data might be used for research purposes and communicate the rights to opt out of participation. It is important for researchers and data administrators to draw the service users’ attention to relevant studies and opt-out mechanisms as well as enforce data protection and linking policies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Douglas ◽  
L. Feeney

ObjectivesIn recent decades mental health services have become increasingly community based and multidisciplinary. However, it is unclear if referrals have changed over this period. The aim of this study was to compare referrals to a community mental health service over a 30-year period.MethodNew referrals to a community mental health service were randomly sampled from 4 time points over a 30-year period, 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013, using a mental health information system. Original referral letters were retrieved and anonymised. Referrals were compared with regard to referral sources, demographics, reason for referral, psychotherapy requests, urgency, risk concerns and subsequent hospital admission.ResultsThere was a 20-fold increase in the number of new referrals between 1983 and 2013. Over the 30 years there was a significant decrease in the proportion of referrals expressing concern about psychosis, but an increase in the proportion that were deemed urgent and which were concerned with suicidal risk. Referrals in 2013 were longer and more likely to contain requests for psychotherapy.ConclusionsThe work of community mental health teams is increasingly concerned with emotional crises. Although services are now more multidisciplinary, they have not been adequately resourced to meet these changing demands.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 959-970
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Reavis ◽  
James A. Henry ◽  
Lynn M. Marshall ◽  
Kathleen F. Carlson

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tinnitus and self-reported mental health distress, namely, depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, in adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey between 2009 and 2012. A secondary aim was to determine if a history of serving in the military modified the associations between tinnitus and mental health distress. Method This was a cross-sectional study design of a national data set that included 5,550 U.S. community-dwelling adults ages 20 years and older, 12.7% of whom were military Veterans. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between tinnitus and mental health distress. All measures were based on self-report. Tinnitus and perceived anxiety were each assessed using a single question. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire. Multivariable regression models were adjusted for key demographic and health factors, including self-reported hearing ability. Results Prevalence of tinnitus was 15%. Compared to adults without tinnitus, adults with tinnitus had a 1.8-fold increase in depression symptoms and a 1.5-fold increase in perceived anxiety after adjusting for potential confounders. Military Veteran status did not modify these observed associations. Conclusions Findings revealed an association between tinnitus and both depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, independent of potential confounders, among both Veterans and non-Veterans. These results suggest, on a population level, that individuals with tinnitus have a greater burden of perceived mental health distress and may benefit from interdisciplinary health care, self-help, and community-based interventions. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12568475


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina B. Gee ◽  
Gagan S. Khera ◽  
Alyssa T. Poblete ◽  
Barunie Kim ◽  
Syeda Y. Buchwach

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