Accessible Mental Health and Wellbeing

This week mental illness in the UK has been back on the political agenda as Ed Miliband names it “the biggest unaddressed health challenge of our age”. And rightly so. From my experience in working with vulnerable women and migrants I can say that access to mental health support services would have solved a lot of issues. But there are several barriers to accessing mental health support services (in this post I am primarily looking at low to medium mental health needs):

1.       They are very scarce or even non-existent. And they are non-existent not necessarily because they are not there, but because people don’t know about them or because they can’t access them. Undocumented migrants and migrants with visa restrictions for example aren’t able to access them at all.

2.       They have gatekeepers that are hard to by-pass. One example comes from GPs who would often simply prescribe anti-depressants and not refer patients on to support services such as counselling or alternative therapies. Another example of gatekeeping is the way in which current commissioning services are tendering mental health.

Back to School Sexism

The sexism in products for children is unbelievable and after a few weeks of doing the school shopping for my 4 year old I now feel like I am back in the 50s. It’ s like a whole new world has opened up to me with loads products targeted at 4 year old kids pigeonholed by gender.  This is done through color and advertisement that is either active or passive. And there is no way around it because these are products you need for school.

Pink is for girls, blue is for boys. Comfortable active shoes are for boys and dressy shoes and boots are for girls. Waterproof coats that say “active kid” are for boys and the more fluffy ones that get easily soaked say “hello kitty” (don't even get me started on hello kitty!) and are for girls. Right?

How did we come to this in the 21^st century in a country such as the UK, which prides itself on freedoms and human rights? How many freedoms and rights have we achieved if all mainstream shops have products for active boys and pretty girls?  I think the UK public should not that it’s not like this everywhere in Europe. Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden are excellent at designing products for children that are not political statements in pink or blue, but are just that – clothes, shoes, and toys for children.

Bristol's Changing Health Landscape. Part I.

Bristol’s Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Does anyone understand the changes to the current health sector? I come into contact with it through work every day, and still have a hard time understanding what is happening. I know some processes are only being established, but I think it will be useful to go over the likes of CCGs and Healthwatch and various strategies to understand where that leaves me and you as service users.

This post will be the first of a series of posts on the changing health landscape in Bristol, in particular when it concerns women.

Bristol’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2013-2018 is not only “fit for the future”, but also available in the future, because right now only a draft for consultation is available. The consultation ended on May 10 of 2013. To me, the strategy reads a bit weak, with broad goals and objectives, and very little clarity of how we are going to get there. How are we going to “become a city where health inequalities are reducing”? I think those who drafted it should look a bit more into developing SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) priorities.

NMC getting it wrong on performance improvement

Nursing and Midwifery Council's get professional or be sacked strategy

Today we’ve seen that the Nursing and Midwifery Council now wants to see patients, colleagues and employers give feedback on  the performance of nurses and midwifes. Those deemed not up to scratch face being barred from working, under the plans drawn up by the NMC.

In my everyday work I often come into contact with nurses, midwifes and care workers. Most of the time they are caring overworked women, low paid and with minimum access to career progression and learning opportunities.

Given the backlog and the number of disciplinary cases over recent years, it is not surprising the NMC is pushing this agenda. However, for an organisation seeking to improve quality of patient care, why is the NMC focusing on punishment and not on improving quality of work for the nurses? A basic review into why quality is slipping will take us right back to the needs of nurses and midwifes that are not met in the first place – such as clear paths to career progression, learning opportunities, mentoring, and clear management processes.

Bristol Challenge

OR how can Bristol shape a meaningful intervention in Syria

We often hear that we live in an interconnected globalised world, and that things happening on the other side of the world are bound to have an impact on our local community. This discourse has been part of the debate on Syria.

So how do the events in Syria impact our lives in Bristol? I am looking outside the office window on a clear sunny day like today and see nothing to worry about. The beautiful Ashton Court in the distance is making the place look tranquil and peaceful. There are children happily playing in the playground, people walking their dogs, some young people noisily driving their motorbikes on the grass and making a mess – nothing out of the ordinary for Bristol. Nothing to indicate worry, displaced people, destroyed houses and lives, ended lives at the hand of conventional or chemical arms.

I am not even sure the full effect of the situation is felt in all of Syria. On Friday an acquaintance from Romania went to Syria to get married. He is either a committed romantic or the events in Syria are not so desperate everywhere.

Back to Bristol though. How does this affect us here and now, why should we care, and what can we do?