People over 65 are often discriminated against because of their age and can find themselves excluded from specialist services, according to the Healthcare Commission.
Its report found that some elderly people were shut out of services on the basis of cost while others were not referred on by their GP.
Experts examined six mental health trusts expected to be at the high, mid and low end of performance.
Overall, more than 600 people were spoken to, including staff, carers, patients and social workers.
National data on accessing mental health services was also analysed for the study, although the report's authors noted that such data was lacking.
Two trusts were found to be treating people on the basis of need rather than age but other trusts were lagging behind.
The report said: "Most trusts were struggling to make progress, and older people were denied access to the full range of mental health services that are available to younger adults.
"In particular, there was poor access to out-of-hours and crisis services, psychological therapies and alcohol services."
Around 40% of older people who visit their GP are estimated to have a mental health problem, as are 50% of older people in hospital and 60% of those in care homes.
More than a quarter of admissions to mental health inpatient services are for people over the age of 65.
Today's report - Equality in Later Life - noted that mental health problems among older people will become more of an NHS burden in the future.
With an increasingly ageing population, more and more people will suffer from diseases like dementia, which currently costs the UK economy more than GBP17 billion a year.
At present, around 700,000 people in the UK have dementia but this figure is expected to rise to more than a million by 2025.
The Healthcare Commission study found that older people were not often given access to out-of-hours services or those aimed at helping people suffering a mental health crisis.
Such services mostly only took referrals for people under the age of 65, or for conditions other than dementia, it said.
"Even when there was no explicit policy about discrimination on the basis of age, staff often reported that although the rules did not prevent referring older people, in actual practice accessing the full range of services for older people was often not possible," the report went on.
Although access to services for alcohol and substance misuse were "theoretically available", they were either offered in a way that was not appropriate for older people or were simply unavailable for referrals.
When it came to psychological therapies, services were often poor, the Commission noted.
One trust reported a waiting list of six months for an assessment while another trust found that, in an audit of 1,300 referrals to psychological therapies from GPs, only 49 were for people over the age of 65.
Some staff said patients deemed to be high risk to the public were given priority, as were those where Government targets applied.
Most trusts had made some progress in identifying issues surrounding age discrimination but others had a long way to go, the report found.
Patients and carers were generally positive about the support and training available but some felt they were pushed "from pillar to post"
when attempting to contact someone about the care on offer.
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "There needs to be a fundamental shift towards providing care based on a person's clinical need rather than their age."
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "It's scandalous that older people are often denied access to vital mental health services because they're deemed too old."
A second study from the Commission, also published today, found that almost half of people under 65 needing specialist mental healthcare still do not have an out-of-hours number if they are in a crisis.
Meanwhile, 55% of people with schizophrenia have not been offered recommended psychological therapies.
The study, which looked at all 68 NHS specialist community mental health trusts in England, found some improvements in 2007/08 compared with a similar report in 2005/06.
However, it said there was "significant room" for improvement before all trusts were meeting best practice and guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).
In the 2007/08 report, 54.7% of patients said they had an out-of-hours contact, up from 49.5% in 2005/06.
A third of trusts were found to have improved performance in this area.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: "We are developing a new strategy for mental health services for all age groups.
"This will herald a dynamic new approach to mental health for everyone.
"In the meantime we are already improving access to psychological therapies with funding rising to £178 million a year."
Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "Mental health care isn't just about going to the doctor for a prescription, it involves a range of services of which emergency out-of hours care is a crucially important part.
"Considering that everyone is meant to have round the clock access to crisis care, it is truly shocking that nearly half of mental health service users don't even have a contact number to call when they are in need. Crisis care is the A&E of mental health treatment - it's like not knowing how to dial 999."
"Although there have been some improvements, four in ten people still do not have a copy of their care plan, which sets out what treatment and care they should be receiving.
"Care plans should be given out automatically, and making sure this happens is one of the simplest improvements healthcare professionals can make. At a time when health care is moving towards greater patient choice and involvement, the most basic level of involvement still isn't happening."
"The situation is even worse for older people - one Trust reported that only 4% of referrals for talking therapies were for older people, while in some areas emergency crisis care isn't even available for the over 65s.
"This is more evidence that in mental health care, there is a culture of de-prioritising older people, who are picking up the leftovers of what treatment is available. Mental health care should be allotted according to need, not according to age."
Source: 24dash.com
© 2009 24dash.com
March 31, 2009
UK: NHS services for older people 'need urgent attention'
.
HEREFORD, England / 24dash.com / Communities / Health / March 31, 2009
By Jon Land
NHS services for older people with mental health problems need "urgent attention", a watchdog said today.
People over 65 are often discriminated against because of their age and can find themselves excluded from specialist services, according to the Healthcare Commission.
Its report found that some elderly people were shut out of services on the basis of cost while others were not referred on by their GP.
Experts examined six mental health trusts expected to be at the high, mid and low end of performance.
Overall, more than 600 people were spoken to, including staff, carers, patients and social workers.
National data on accessing mental health services was also analysed for the study, although the report's authors noted that such data was lacking.
Two trusts were found to be treating people on the basis of need rather than age but other trusts were lagging behind.
The report said: "Most trusts were struggling to make progress, and older people were denied access to the full range of mental health services that are available to younger adults.
"In particular, there was poor access to out-of-hours and crisis services, psychological therapies and alcohol services."
Around 40% of older people who visit their GP are estimated to have a mental health problem, as are 50% of older people in hospital and 60% of those in care homes.
More than a quarter of admissions to mental health inpatient services are for people over the age of 65.
Today's report - Equality in Later Life - noted that mental health problems among older people will become more of an NHS burden in the future.
With an increasingly ageing population, more and more people will suffer from diseases like dementia, which currently costs the UK economy more than GBP17 billion a year.
At present, around 700,000 people in the UK have dementia but this figure is expected to rise to more than a million by 2025.
The Healthcare Commission study found that older people were not often given access to out-of-hours services or those aimed at helping people suffering a mental health crisis.
Such services mostly only took referrals for people under the age of 65, or for conditions other than dementia, it said.
"Even when there was no explicit policy about discrimination on the basis of age, staff often reported that although the rules did not prevent referring older people, in actual practice accessing the full range of services for older people was often not possible," the report went on.
Although access to services for alcohol and substance misuse were "theoretically available", they were either offered in a way that was not appropriate for older people or were simply unavailable for referrals.
When it came to psychological therapies, services were often poor, the Commission noted.
One trust reported a waiting list of six months for an assessment while another trust found that, in an audit of 1,300 referrals to psychological therapies from GPs, only 49 were for people over the age of 65.
Some staff said patients deemed to be high risk to the public were given priority, as were those where Government targets applied.
Most trusts had made some progress in identifying issues surrounding age discrimination but others had a long way to go, the report found.
Patients and carers were generally positive about the support and training available but some felt they were pushed "from pillar to post"
when attempting to contact someone about the care on offer.
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "There needs to be a fundamental shift towards providing care based on a person's clinical need rather than their age."
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "It's scandalous that older people are often denied access to vital mental health services because they're deemed too old."
A second study from the Commission, also published today, found that almost half of people under 65 needing specialist mental healthcare still do not have an out-of-hours number if they are in a crisis.
Meanwhile, 55% of people with schizophrenia have not been offered recommended psychological therapies.
The study, which looked at all 68 NHS specialist community mental health trusts in England, found some improvements in 2007/08 compared with a similar report in 2005/06.
However, it said there was "significant room" for improvement before all trusts were meeting best practice and guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).
In the 2007/08 report, 54.7% of patients said they had an out-of-hours contact, up from 49.5% in 2005/06.
A third of trusts were found to have improved performance in this area.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: "We are developing a new strategy for mental health services for all age groups.
"This will herald a dynamic new approach to mental health for everyone.
"In the meantime we are already improving access to psychological therapies with funding rising to £178 million a year."
Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "Mental health care isn't just about going to the doctor for a prescription, it involves a range of services of which emergency out-of hours care is a crucially important part.
"Considering that everyone is meant to have round the clock access to crisis care, it is truly shocking that nearly half of mental health service users don't even have a contact number to call when they are in need. Crisis care is the A&E of mental health treatment - it's like not knowing how to dial 999."
"Although there have been some improvements, four in ten people still do not have a copy of their care plan, which sets out what treatment and care they should be receiving.
"Care plans should be given out automatically, and making sure this happens is one of the simplest improvements healthcare professionals can make. At a time when health care is moving towards greater patient choice and involvement, the most basic level of involvement still isn't happening."
"The situation is even worse for older people - one Trust reported that only 4% of referrals for talking therapies were for older people, while in some areas emergency crisis care isn't even available for the over 65s.
"This is more evidence that in mental health care, there is a culture of de-prioritising older people, who are picking up the leftovers of what treatment is available. Mental health care should be allotted according to need, not according to age."
Source: 24dash.com
© 2009 24dash.com
People over 65 are often discriminated against because of their age and can find themselves excluded from specialist services, according to the Healthcare Commission.
Its report found that some elderly people were shut out of services on the basis of cost while others were not referred on by their GP.
Experts examined six mental health trusts expected to be at the high, mid and low end of performance.
Overall, more than 600 people were spoken to, including staff, carers, patients and social workers.
National data on accessing mental health services was also analysed for the study, although the report's authors noted that such data was lacking.
Two trusts were found to be treating people on the basis of need rather than age but other trusts were lagging behind.
The report said: "Most trusts were struggling to make progress, and older people were denied access to the full range of mental health services that are available to younger adults.
"In particular, there was poor access to out-of-hours and crisis services, psychological therapies and alcohol services."
Around 40% of older people who visit their GP are estimated to have a mental health problem, as are 50% of older people in hospital and 60% of those in care homes.
More than a quarter of admissions to mental health inpatient services are for people over the age of 65.
Today's report - Equality in Later Life - noted that mental health problems among older people will become more of an NHS burden in the future.
With an increasingly ageing population, more and more people will suffer from diseases like dementia, which currently costs the UK economy more than GBP17 billion a year.
At present, around 700,000 people in the UK have dementia but this figure is expected to rise to more than a million by 2025.
The Healthcare Commission study found that older people were not often given access to out-of-hours services or those aimed at helping people suffering a mental health crisis.
Such services mostly only took referrals for people under the age of 65, or for conditions other than dementia, it said.
"Even when there was no explicit policy about discrimination on the basis of age, staff often reported that although the rules did not prevent referring older people, in actual practice accessing the full range of services for older people was often not possible," the report went on.
Although access to services for alcohol and substance misuse were "theoretically available", they were either offered in a way that was not appropriate for older people or were simply unavailable for referrals.
When it came to psychological therapies, services were often poor, the Commission noted.
One trust reported a waiting list of six months for an assessment while another trust found that, in an audit of 1,300 referrals to psychological therapies from GPs, only 49 were for people over the age of 65.
Some staff said patients deemed to be high risk to the public were given priority, as were those where Government targets applied.
Most trusts had made some progress in identifying issues surrounding age discrimination but others had a long way to go, the report found.
Patients and carers were generally positive about the support and training available but some felt they were pushed "from pillar to post"
when attempting to contact someone about the care on offer.
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "There needs to be a fundamental shift towards providing care based on a person's clinical need rather than their age."
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "It's scandalous that older people are often denied access to vital mental health services because they're deemed too old."
A second study from the Commission, also published today, found that almost half of people under 65 needing specialist mental healthcare still do not have an out-of-hours number if they are in a crisis.
Meanwhile, 55% of people with schizophrenia have not been offered recommended psychological therapies.
The study, which looked at all 68 NHS specialist community mental health trusts in England, found some improvements in 2007/08 compared with a similar report in 2005/06.
However, it said there was "significant room" for improvement before all trusts were meeting best practice and guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).
In the 2007/08 report, 54.7% of patients said they had an out-of-hours contact, up from 49.5% in 2005/06.
A third of trusts were found to have improved performance in this area.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: "We are developing a new strategy for mental health services for all age groups.
"This will herald a dynamic new approach to mental health for everyone.
"In the meantime we are already improving access to psychological therapies with funding rising to £178 million a year."
Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "Mental health care isn't just about going to the doctor for a prescription, it involves a range of services of which emergency out-of hours care is a crucially important part.
"Considering that everyone is meant to have round the clock access to crisis care, it is truly shocking that nearly half of mental health service users don't even have a contact number to call when they are in need. Crisis care is the A&E of mental health treatment - it's like not knowing how to dial 999."
"Although there have been some improvements, four in ten people still do not have a copy of their care plan, which sets out what treatment and care they should be receiving.
"Care plans should be given out automatically, and making sure this happens is one of the simplest improvements healthcare professionals can make. At a time when health care is moving towards greater patient choice and involvement, the most basic level of involvement still isn't happening."
"The situation is even worse for older people - one Trust reported that only 4% of referrals for talking therapies were for older people, while in some areas emergency crisis care isn't even available for the over 65s.
"This is more evidence that in mental health care, there is a culture of de-prioritising older people, who are picking up the leftovers of what treatment is available. Mental health care should be allotted according to need, not according to age."
Source: 24dash.com
© 2009 24dash.com
