Maggie + Samira + Daniel + Yemen + Costa Rica + Ukraine + stopping ECT +
Costa Rica can do it why not the UK ?
Disputed Borders: Russia and Ukraine
Lobby your MP for Yemen on 10th March
London Hearing Voices Network - February
Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions
Can randomly selected citizens govern better than elected officials?
The law in 60 seconds – legal aid for inquests video
Hillsborough law - duty of candour -would this help with our Freedom of information requests ?
Cannabis, ketamine and speed to be decriminalised in London by Sadiq Khan
A shorter working week for Europe
Children imprisoned on remand – the stark reality of racial bias
Combatting Structural Racism and Classism in Psychiatry: An Interview with Helena Hansen
Suman Fernando’s book Institutional racism in psychiatry + clinical psychology
How Western Psychology Can Rip Indigenous Families Apart: An Interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn
People deprived of liberty due to misapplication of Mental Health + Capacity Acts
As a result of the Bournewood case the Mental capacity act came into being?
The mental capacity act
Assume capacity
Best interest
Least restrictive
People can make what others would consider unwise decisions
Supported decision making
Capacity can easily be assessed
Can someone make a decision?
Can they communicate the decision (not necessarily verbally)?
Can they remember the decision?
-Wendy-
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
Half of people with a learning disability and autistic people reluctant to provide feedback on care
The authority gap: why women still aren’t taken seriously
Women disproportionately affected by soaring Mental Health Act detentions
Report Finds Monitoring of Electroshock Treatment Unsafe
New Study Finds ECT Ineffective for Reducing Suicide Risk
We can STOP ECT with lasting power of attorney?
Provide Tapering Strips for People Who Want to Withdraw Safely from Psychotropic Drugs
NICE revises antidepressant guidance to warn of 'severe' withdrawal symptoms
Long-term antipsychotic use linked to breast cancer
Government review finds 10% of drugs dispensed in England are pointless
Sedated, How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental Health Crisis - James Davies +
Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: January to March 2021
“Almost 4 in 10 adults earning less than £10,000 a year experienced depressive symptom compared with around 1 in 10 earning £50,000 or more”
The data shows what we know to be true: struggling with your mental health doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
Why not Diagnose Social Conditions Instead of Individual Symptoms?
The WHO Calls for Radical Change in Global Mental Health
Emotional CPR: Heart-Centered Peer Support
How do we pay for a basic income?
Welsh basic income pilot have been published
In a statement from Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice
The pilot will be targeted at care leavers
All young people leaving care that turn 18 over a 12 month period starting this summer will be invited to participate
That is expected to be about 500 people
Participants will receive the payments for 24 months starting from the month after their 18th birthday
A £1,600 a month basic income will be paid each month
£1 Concession Tickets for Kew Gardens
As part of their new 10-year strategy, Kew Gardens is committed to ensuring that cost is not a barrier to accessing their gardens in both Kew and Wakehurst.
They have introduced a new admission price of £1 for anyone on Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Visitors just need to present proof of their benefit on arrival to be eligible for the new concessionary ticket.
Striving for a better right to repair
Here's how we'll fix our relationship with electronics
Choose your Picture for April!
5-stars for 'Whistler's Woman in White'
Community based organisations + community recommended organisations
Shield Alert For David Italiano, Forced to Live in a Congregate Facility; Cut Off From Outside World
Create, Debate and Imagine a different local democracy
CITIZENS : Why the key to fixing everything is all of us
F.E.E.L. - Friends of East End Loonies
A Caring Mind | A blog for carers of mental health
Poverty eradication organisations + self-expression
Joseph Rowntree foundation (JRF)
Why the Chancellor shouldn't cut Universal Credit
Including Economic (in)justice explainer video – A redesigned economy
Why we need a new conversation about social security
A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2021
The biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War
People living in social housing claiming Universal Credit are struggling to afford the essentials
Why we must #KeepTheLifeline and what you can do to help
House prices see their biggest annual rise in decades, and rents are up too
New analysis exposes impact of planned Universal Credit cut
"The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, you must Keep the Lifeline"
Rashford targets a win on Universal Credit
what's causing structural racism in housing?
it's going to be a “very difficult winter” for low-income families
less than a week for the Government to #KeepTheLifeline
Biggest ever overnight cut to social security makes a mockery of levelling up
Invest in social housing for almost 1 million families paying private rents they can't afford
Millions of low-income households pulled under by arrears while living costs rise
A tale of two Budgets for low-income families
A just transition to net zero is necessary, and key for maintaining public support
Paving the way for good jobs through participatory co-design
Including Navigating power dynamics within participatory projects + Where next for social security after recent Universal Credit announcements?
Winning hearts and minds for decent, affordable housing
Families furthest below the minimum income standard excluded from social security gains
highest levels of interest on credit cards in two decades
Including event 19th Jan 2022 + Looking for someone like you?
Inflation is pushing people deeper into poverty
Including housing ideas
Elections Bill could disenfranchise millions of voters
addressing poverty with lived experience (APLE)
Allow all people to work flexibly if they want to - PETITION
Ending the need for food banks. Can we count on you?
Record 2.5 million food bank parcels given to people in crisis in the past year
95% of people referred to food banks in our network are living in destitution – CONTACT YOUR MP
Have you personally needed a food bank or experienced poverty?
Are you ready to support us to Keep the Lifeline? – EMAIL MP
Here is why we are calling on the UK government to #KeeptheLifeline!
Why the design of Universal Credit is driving the need for food banks
Paying your energy bills: help is at hand
A Marshall Plan for People and Planet Starts with Africa’s Green Recovery
National Survivors User Network (NSUN)
NSUN is a great organisation with a great newsletter …
You can sign up to it here ….
Extracts from the newsletters …
Blog by Colin King via NSUN
Why don’t they ask us? The role of communities in levelling up - Institute for Community Studies
Provide Tapering Strips for People Who Want to Withdraw Safely from Psychotropic Drugs
Petition to Scrap Care Charges Inclusion London
Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: January to March 2021
“Almost 4 in 10 adults earning less than £10,000 a year experienced depressive symptom compared with around 1 in 10 earning £50,000 or more”
The data shows what we know to be true: struggling with your mental health doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
No longer 'managing': the rise of working poverty and fixing Britain's broken social settlement
Why aren't women of colour believed when they address mental health issues?
Article by Natalie Morris via Metro
The state of disability benefit assessments and the urgent need for reform - #peoplebefore process
Petition - Create a user-led, independent body to support CQC to monitor secure settings
Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches
World Health Organisation (WHO) – NSUN’s response
Lived Experience Practioners Revolution - New Website
UNIVERSAL CREDIT: WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE TO MAKE IT FIT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES?
Mental Health Act: Call for "unequivocal commitment " to improve access to advocacy
Disability Benefits Research 2021 - Survey
Translations of resources on hearing voices - Hearing the Voice & Understanding Voices
Jacqui Dyer: It’s not OK to replace paid LXP staff with Unpaid Service Users
Update on FOI Requests: Who's Ballin' & Who's Stallin?
Improving safety and quality in community mental healthcare study
Contact phoebe.averill@kcl.ac.uk
‘Deep concern’ over high-tech system that allows ‘covert surveillance’ of service-users
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
Shuranjeet Singh: Reshaping approaches to mental health in Punjabi communities
Podcast with Shuranjeet Singh via Centre for Mental Health
From Where We Stand: Conversations on race and mental health
Podcast with Shaimaa Kraba via From Where We Stand
To Solve Britain’s Mental Health Crisis, We Must Fundamentally Change Society
Article by Mark Brown via Novara Media (Listen to the piece here)
Blog by Akiko hart via Charity so White
Blog by Ellie Thompson via NSUN
Refugee and Migrant Wellbeing with Benny Hunter from Da'aro Youth
Podcast with Benny Hunter via The Eriwellbeing Podcast
Article by Yas Necati via gal-dem
NHS trusts criticised over system that films mental health patients in their bedrooms
Article by David Batty via The Guardian
Abolition of State Power, Regardless of the Uniform
Article by Liv Wynter & Ros B via NSUN
T4H Challenging Inequalities Programme
Jan + Feb + March 2022 contack mike@talkforhealth.co.uk
Get involved in social work research
contact swresearchpodcast@gmail.com
Blog via Raveetawrites
Government’s failure on job support for disabled people is ‘unacceptable’, MPs hear
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
We Don’t All Have The Same Hours In A Day
Article by Edi Whitehead via Taking Time
Digital Mental Health Survey by March 2022
Mental health, activism and intersectionality: new podcasts
Book Review: Voices that Shake! A triology of youth led publications
Review by Kaiisha Kukendra via NSUN
Blog by Dolly Sen via Digita Democratices
How much I Hide in Plain Sight
Podcast by Rai Waddingham via Mad Tunes Podcast
Activism and the Ego – how to deal with frustration about lack of change
Article by David Gilbert viaInHealth Associates
How I learnt of Revolutionary Love
Article by Guppi Kaur Bola via Medium
Graceful resolve: Attitudes for navigating a psychological crisis
Article by Amy Pollard via Centre for Mental Health
Blog by MiserySquid via Mad Covid
Patching the Soul
Article by Linda Gask
Plural Me
Blog by David Mordecai
Hearing voices + alternative realities group facilitation - 3rd + 4th +7th March
contactLHVN@mindincamden.org.uk
World Bipolar day - 30th March 2022
Unruly bodies - 16th Feb to 13th March 2022
NSUN to host Synergi Phase 2 in partnership with Catalyst 4 Change
DBC responds to The Uses of Health and Disability Benefits report
Article by Disability Benefits Consortium
Podcast with Rai Waddingham via Mad Tunes Podcast
Disability strategy is unlawful, court confirms… and denies DWP permission to appeal
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
Sometimes I want to be unreasonable
Blog via Mad Covid
My ADHD diagnosis isn’t ‘wrong’ and it isn’t an ‘identity’ for you to challenge
Blog by RoseAnnieFlo via Animated and Excitable
Free advice - for upholding adults' Health and Care Act rights
Loneliness - themed photo project on show in Wakefield
Article via Amateur Photographer
Secret DWP report reveals unmet needs of disability benefit claimants
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
A Philosophy of Madness’ Book Forum: Part One
Book review by Jeremy Spandler via The Polyphony
The future of the online community forum - 23rd March
Service User Involvement and COVID-19—An Afterthought?
Open Access Article in The British Journal of Social Work
Losing Myself: Mental Health in a Hostile Environment - Episode 1: The Journey
Podcast by Yeser via The Advocacy Project & Migrants Organise
‘Tokenistic’ service-user involvement must be addressed, says report
Article by John Pring via Disability News Service
Caught in a Trap: Psychiatric Sabotage
Article by Liam Kirk via Asylum Magazine
Magical thinking and moral injury: exclusion culture in psychiatry
Follow-up blog by Dr Chloe Beale & Ellen Thomas via Cambridge Core Blog
Addressing racial inequalities - 7th March
Mental Health Act Reform: Analysis from professional and lived experience - 9th March
+ Jobs + Funding + MUCH MUCH MORE
Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester: Health Equity and Dignified Lives
Survivor Researcher Network (SRN)
Tell your MP to restore Disabled people’s rights
Protect Everyone Bill – EMAIL MP
Take Action and abolish the tax on disability – EMAIL MP
Government rule changes on social care cap hits poorest hardest – EMAIL MP
Opportunities for user-led organisations
Tickboxes and tokenism? Our new report
Z2K – fighting poverty – EMAIL MP
Z2K has caseworker to help people
Homelessness + renter organisations
New guidance for housing management teams
Housing First England Newsletter - New Survey Alert
Housing First England Newsletter - Minister responds to funding request
Housing First England Newsletter - Join our call for a national Housing First programme
Housing First England Newsletter - Commissioning Housing First through RSI budgets
Here’s the statistics:
24% of private renters have had to borrow money to pay their rent
18% have cut back on food or skipped meals to pay their rent
12% have cut back on heating their home to pay their rent
Our research shows the true scale of the problem.
That 3.2 million people from across the country have been forced to live in dangerous or unhealthy privately rented homes because they fear complaining will trigger a retaliatory eviction.
That's 39% of all private renters.
Too scared to complain for fear of losing their home, the effects of insecure tenancies and 'no-fault' Section 21 evictions hang over every renter's head.
Contact your MP today asking for their support
Social Housing – CONTACT YOUR MP
Time to open up, OpenRent! – EMAIL
2,688 sleeping rough during the pandemic
Sign to protect renters’ rights – PETITION
Do you have a renting horror story?
Want to challenge DSS Discrimination?
Eviction ban lifted – INFORMATION
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Demand better from renting - PETITION
Meet Krystalrose – she's fighting for change
Shelter’s new campaigns and organising training programme – YOUR IDEAS NEEDED
Today, 1 in every 52 Londoners is living in temporary accommodation.
This is costing huge amounts of money and doesn’t provide the stability or security families need to thrive.
I'm done with renting because…
Let’s build a better future: Call on the government to build social housing - PETITION
What happened to ‘Everyone In’?
23% left without any move on accommodation and may be at risk of returning to the streets or forced to turn to insecure arrangements like sofa surfing 22% remain in emergency accommodation
23% of those still in emergency accommodation have No Recourse to Public Funds and are stuck without access to homelessness assistance or housing benefit, meaning it is hard for them to move on to a secure home
45% of England’s private renting adults – that's 3.7 million people – have been the victim of illegal behaviour from a landlord or letting agent.
Michael Gove: New Housing Secretary of State – SIGN OPEN LETTER
Fix renting
Build social housing
Help people at risk of sleeping rough
Are letting agents refusing you for being on benefits?
Next step contact the property ombudsman (TPO)
Will you help us get council leaders to support renters?
London Assembly Unanimously Passes Motion on Affordable Housing for Care and Support Workers
A good Home is a human right
Level Up Housing
On the 2nd Feb 2022, the government released its plans to ‘level up’ the country.
It included three very important announcements on housing:
Build more genuinely affordable social homes ✔
Give tenants of social homes more protection ✔
Bring forward a national landlord registry, improve standards in privately rented homes and strengthen the rights of renters ✔
I’m being evicted – EMAIL MINISTER
Don't leave young people out on the streets – PETITION
We beat my landlord. Now let’s take on the system.
Be a part of challenging 'Right to Rent' in court
Contact rowan@leighday.co.uk
Evicted after 47 years - PETITION
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: National Register of Landlords
Private renters in nine London boroughs face paying half of their income or more on rent, analysis by campaign group Generation Rent has found.
Rent on the typical two-bedroom home costs 45% of a full-time salary in London.
Campaigners say this pushes families into poverty and financial stress, and makes it harder to save or to start a family.
Paying more than a third of your income in rent is considered unaffordable.
Generation Rent is calling on the next Mayor of London to lead a campaign to demand powers from the government to reduce rents.
Measures would include freezing rents within tenancies, to give tenants more certainty, a rent control system that aims to reduce rents overall, and tough penalties for landlords who break the rules, overseen by a city-wide Rent Control Board.
In March 2020, the rent on the median 2-bedroom home in London was £1450 and the median full-time salary was £38,592.
That would mean that a single-earner family with a baby would be spending 45% of their earnings on rent.
The situation is worst in inner London, Newham and Haringey where this figure is above 50% and reaches 76% in Westminster.
The most affordable borough is Bexley, with median rent worth 33% of the median full-time salary.
However, affordability has improved over the last five years, with just five boroughs – Camden, Greenwich, Havering, Redbridge, and Westminster – becoming less affordable since 2015.
Alicia Kennedy, Director of Generation Rent, said: “High rents force people into poverty and make it almost impossible to save towards the future.
No one should have to spend more than 30% of their income on rent, yet this is a reality for most Londoners who are stuck in the private rented sector.
“Londoners urgently need bold action to make renting more affordable. Investment in housebuilding is needed to make renting more affordable long-term, but rent controls would offer immediate protection and relief.”
Join our Day of Action - #RentersAreWaiting - PETITION
Since March 2020, 8% of private renters who responded to a Survation survey had received a Section 21 notice from their landlord, which would represent 694,000 private renters across England.
Nearly a third of those surveyed (32%) said they were concerned about the possibility of their landlord asking them to move out this year, which would represent 2.78m private renters across England.
The survey was commissioned by Generation Rent, with results published this week.
We need a COVID Rent debt fund - PETITION
Join us in preventing a homelessness crisis – PETITION
A new report, 'A safe place to call home: Ending unfair evictions for good'.
The report sets out the changes the Government must make to ensure every renter has access to a stable home where they can put down roots and thrive.
You can read all about the report here.
We are calling for:
Open ended tenancies
More time to find a new home
Compensation for a blameless move
No excessive rent increases to force an eviction
No mandatory evictions for people in rent debt
Close the holiday let tax loophole - PETITION
Renters are being forced out of their homes to make way for more lucrative holidaymakers.
We have been able to get the research done to prove it!
In the last two years rental listings in Wales and South West England have halved and rents have gone up by around 25%.
That's one of our findings that have been reported in today's i newspaper
In North Devon there are 2,591 short-term holiday lets but just 21 private rental listings on Rightmove and 30 on Zoopla.
In Gwynnedd, Wales, there are 4,007 holiday lets but just 99 homes for private tenants.
The collapse in the supply of homes to rent are pricing renters out of their local communities – away from their family and friends.
Renter reform coalition – EMAIL MP
Tell your MP we need homes not hotels
Ask your MP to protect vulnerable renters (Content warning: sexual offences)
Campaign win! Government to require landlords to register
Helping rough sleepers – PETITION
Close the eviction loophole - PETITION
You can sign a petition without making a donation
Cardboard citizen – Writers ‘circle
1st + 3rd Thursday every month
Contact Bonny@cardboardcitizens.org.uk
07421 383 770
Cardboard Citizens: Survey for Members
Cardboard Citizens' Inclusivity & Equality Agenda
In recent years movements such as Black Lives Matter and #metoo have prompted shifts in our society and highlighted the work that needs to be done to address social inequality.
As a result Cardboard Citizens Staff, Board of Trustees and Member Representatives have completed a course of training over the last six months with Fearless Futures
This focused on understanding and unpicking systems of inequity (the behaviours and processes which have a harmful or negative impacts on marginalised groups), reflecting on our own practices as individuals and an organisation.
Through these sessions we have explored:
Privilege
Intersectionality
where different categories overlap such as race and gender resulting in multiple forms of oppression
Gender-norms
Racism and Anti-Racism
Colonialism
Calling people in’
i.e., challenge prejudices or narratives that reproduce inequities
Social justice is at the heart to Cardboard Citizens’ work in the theatre and beyond.
We continue to learn, striving to create inclusive environments and challenge oppressions in society.
This is a key area of focus for the company and we would love to involve some more Members in these conversations.
If you’re interested being part of this and for more information, please email Bonny: Bonny@cardboardcitizens.org.uk
Community check-in every Friday
Access Free Energy Bill Support
Angel Alley Intensive week – Feb 2022
WATCH: Eight brand new short films about social housing
Creative + nature + advocacy
Your latest update from The Poetry Society
Groundwork is a federation of charities mobilising practical community action on poverty and the environment across the UK.
We’re passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances.
START THE NEW YEAR WITH A WARMER HOME
Charities unite to urge for a green and resilient response to the gas crisis
Me and You and a Global Pandemic
Medicating Me: Personal Impressions of Psychiatric Medication
reflections on advocacy during Covid
National Development Team for Inclusion
Leeds Autism AIM: #PowerOfPartnership
NAC – Guidance regarding emotional enrichment
Staying mentally well this winter
Audit of MH services – PLEASE COMPLETE
This resource helps mental health services think about how to provide a good service to autistic people and people with learning disabilities.
There’s more information about it at Green Light Toolkit - NDTi
People organised + information
Connected Kingston - including providing information about Legal drop-in clinic + welfare benefits information
Calling the police on someone in distress IS a threat of violence
"How Big Pharma & Psychiatry Gaslight Us"
Man Arrested in Mistaken Identity Case Locked in Hawaii Mental Health Hospital for Two Years
Including International Conference on Psychiatric drug withdrawal – May 2022
Open Letter Re: Shooting Death of Orlando Taylor
What We’re Still Getting Wrong About What Happened to Orlando Taylor III
training online – free - 7th - 10th March
This week’s newsletter here
Social Security and Asylum: How States Produce Negative Affect to Stigmatize and Deter
“From the Victorian workhouse to contemporary welfare reforms, the provision of ‘welfare’ has long coexisted alongside policies and practices that mobilize negative affect to deter specific groups from claiming state support, and to craft public affect (such as fear and disgust) about these target populations.”
My Letter to an Advocate for Involuntary Treatment
The WHO Calls for Radical Change in Global Mental Health
The Transformational Qualities of Hearing Voices Groups
BMJ: 20% of Health Research Is Fraudulent
Robert Whitaker: Anatomy of an Industry: Commerce, Payments to Psychiatrists and Betrayal of the Public Good
Pharmaceutical companies are no longer attempting to hide their financial influence.
The face of commerce is visible at every stage of the process: the biased design of the trials, the spinning of the results, and the subsequent touting of the drugs to prescribers.
Antipsychotics Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Risk
Coercion and Dehumanization in Mental Healthcare
Combatting Structural Racism and Classism in Psychiatry: An Interview with Helena Hansen
MIA interviews psychiatrist and anthropologist Helena Hansen about bringing structural competency to psychiatry while rebuilding communities through activism and mutual aid.
Responsibility Without Blame in Therapeutic Communities: Interview with Philosopher Hanna Pickard
Reason and Madness: How Psychiatry Marginalizes Those Who Contradict Western Norms
Art, Music, Exercise, and More: What Are the Recommended Doses for Improving Mental Health?
How Western Psychology Can Rip Indigenous Families Apart: An Interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn
Research Reveals Mental Health Professionals’ Participation in Rape Culture
Emotional CPR: Heart-Centered Peer Support
Inside A Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Here’s How to Survive
Lithium No Better Than Placebo for Preventing Suicide Attempts
Lithium, Antidepressants, Esketamine—All No Better Than Placebo?
Qualitative Evidence Supports the Ban on Conversion Therapy in Canada
Adverse Childhood Experiences Associated with Higher Anxiety in College Students
What Role can the United Nations Play in Rights-Based Global Mental Health?
When It Comes to Mental Health Problems, The Disability Framework Fails
Mental Health Care Must Support Consent and Basic Human Rights
The Psychiatric Hospital Is an Institution of Social Control
Common Statistical Method Conflates Withdrawal with Relapse
New Review: Antidepressants Come with Minimal Benefits, Several Risks
Family Physicians Must Change Antidepressant Prescribing Practices
Person-Centered Approach to Psychopathology Eschews Diagnosis
The Crisis in Psychiatry and The Slow Way Back: Interview with Vincenzo Di Nicola
When Tapering Antidepressants, is Going Slow Always the Best Strategy?
Ketamine Withdrawal Has Severe Consequences
Inside A Forensic Psychiatry Unit: The Ground Where Death Meets Life
For Life: Opera on Psychiatry and Its Drugs
Unscientific Diagnoses Medicalize Normal Human Experiences
Can Anything Good Come Out of Therapy?
Critical Psychology for a Better Society: An Interview with Sebastienne Grant
De-Psychiatrization and the Promise of Open Dialogue
Ekaterina Netchitailova: "Mental Health” Is a Euphemism for Policing Social Deviance
Chuck Ruby: When It Comes to Mental Health Problems, The Disability Framework Fails: A Response to Comments
SSRI Antidepressants Do Not Improve Depression After a Stroke
Why We Need a Neurodiverse Philosophy of Autistic Happiness
Navigating the meaning of psychosis important for recovery
Guardianship Destroyed My Family
Fireside Project: Peer Support for Psychedelic Experiences
Understanding the Youth Mental Health Crisis: An Interview with Elia Abi-Jaoude
No Meaningful Brain Differences in Depression
New NICE Guidelines for ECT Are Dangerously Inadequate, Say 50 Patients and Professionals
August 20, 1985: The Day My Psychotic Episodes Ended
Grief: A Shamanic Perspective
How Socioeconomic Class Affects Therapy
Clinicians and Patients Often Disagree on Mental Health Outcomes
Psychiatry and Psychology Fail in Response to Farmer Suicides in India
Online Debates on Psychiatric Diagnosis Often Rely on Rhetoric Instead of Facts
Home Alone: Finding Connection During the Pandemic
Why Is Child Sexual Abuse So Common in Institutions?
Why Is Psychiatry So Defensive About Criticism?
Did Pharma Companies Hide Failed ADHD Drug Studies From Regulators?
Study Discovers Extensive Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research
Roll-out of 988 Threatens Anonymity of Crisis Hotlines
Johann Hari: Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention
Major Review Finds Limited Effectiveness for Medication and Therapy
Evidence Distortion in Medicine Explained in One Single Chart
Negative Antidepressant Trials Still Unlikely to Be Published
Shifting Away from ECT and Antidepressants for Depression
Put Psyche Back Into Psychiatry and Add Psychological Intimacy
The New DSM Is Coming and That Isn’t Good News
Michael Hengartner – Evidence-biased Antidepressant Prescription
Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Earning the Right to Sleep on the Floor
Jane Engleman: Consternation of the Bees
Christine Burnett: The Danger of Marginalizing People
Philip Hickey: Why Is Psychiatry So Defensive About Criticism? Part 2
Susan Inman Is at It Again
Read Rebuts Biased ECT Defenders
The Medicalization of Women’s Suffering: An Interview with Dana Becker
Can the Psychodynamic Manual Move Therapy Beyond the DSM?
How Providers Can Support Psychiatric Drug Discontinuation
John Read: Fear and Loathing in the ECT Debate
James Knochel: Malignant Do-Gooderism: The Tragedies of Allopathic Psychiatry
Michael Hengartner: Regulators Are Approving Drugs Without Clear Evidence That They Work
Research News: Ketamine No Better Than Placebo for Reducing Suicidal Ideation in Depression
I Made It Out Alive
Medicating Preschoolers for ADHD: How “Evidence-Based” Psychiatry Has Led to a Tragic End
London Hearing Voices Network - February
Spiritual crisis Network (SCN)
4th International Social Prescribing Network Conference – 10th + 11th March 2022
Bookings open for the 4th International SPN Conference
Conference updates and February news
Self- development
10 keys to happier living groups
How to live mindfully, even in stressful times
How to feel part of something bigger every day
Making time to be mindful helps us reduce stress levels,
by turning our focus to the here and now, rather than dwelling on the past or future.
“The qualities of kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity are the attitudinal foundations and qualitative tone of mindfulness.
Cultivating these qualities plays a central role in freeing the mind from patterns that create and recreate distress?”
The richest human isn’t the one who has the most, but the one who needs less.
Wealth is a mindset.
Want less and appreciate more today.
Latest News from the Coalition for Personalised Care
Including events
5 Quotes for Coping with Things You Can't Control
Today, use frustration and disappointment to motivate you rather than annoy you.
Breathe and be mindful.
You are in control of the way you respond to life.
It’s not what you broadcast to everyone else that determines the trajectory of your life;
it’s what you whisper to yourself behind closed doors that has the greatest power and influence.
Some people will never understand, and it’s not your job to teach or change them.
Prioritize your peace.
Learning to let go of certain expectations and detach from certain people, are two of the great paths to inner peace.
Your worth is not dependent on someone else’s ability to be kind and loving.
Accept this, and start acknowledging your own worth.
Stop waiting for others to tell you how important you are.
Tell yourself today, and believe it.
The goal this year is to gradually change your response to what you can't control.
To grow stronger on the inside, so that almost nothing on the outside can affect your inner peace and wellness without your conscious permission.
Our perspective on just about everything comes from the psychological cage we’ve been conditioned to live in.
A cage created by...
A difficult or disappointing experience
A privileged or sheltered life
Social influence
Pop-culture and mass-media stereotyping
And the list goes on.
Gradually, unbeknownst to us, our cage—our conditioning—drains our mental energy, leaving us vulnerable to bad decision making?
When we were young, we saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes.
We knew what we wanted and we had no biases or concealed agendas.
We liked people who smiled.
We avoided people who frowned.
We ate when we were hungry, drank when we were thirsty, and slept when we were tired.
As we grew older our minds became gradually disillusioned by negative external influences?
At some point we began to hesitate and question our instincts?
Our minds are incredibly powerful.
They can bring us down or lift us up at a moment’s notice.
How we think about things literally changes everything we do on a daily basis!
Whenever I’m coaching someone who’s struggling in the trenches, I gracefully shift their focus from what they don’t want to what they DO want.
I remind them that what you focus on grows stronger in your life, and that the best time to focus on the positive and take responsibility for your happiness is when you don’t feel like it.
Because that’s when doing so can make the biggest difference.
Sometimes you simply have to let go and accept the feeling of not knowing exactly where you’re going next, and do your best to appreciate this freedom.
Because it is only when you are suspended in the air, with no destination in sight, that you force your wings to open fully so you can fly.
And as you soar around you still may not know exactly where you’re traveling to.
But that’s not what’s important.
What’s important is the opening of your wings.
You may not know where you’re headed, but you know that so long as your wings are spread, the winds will carry you forward.
4 More Relationship Truths for Tough Times
Resentment hurts you, not them
Sometimes walking away is the only path forward
Some relationships will be blessings, others will serve as lessons
Even the best relationships don’t last forever.
3 Hidden Behaviours that Harm Your Relationships
Using complaints and disagreements as an opportunity to condemn each other?
Using hateful gestures as a substitute for honest communication?
The silent treatment?
Healing in Your Relationships
If you don’t allow yourself to move past what happened, what was said, what was felt, you will look at your present and future through that same dirty lens, and nothing will be able to focus your foggy judgment.
Always be kinder than necessary.
Forgive yourself for the bad decisions you made, for the times you lacked clarity, for the choices that hurt others and yourself.
Some chapters in our lives have to close without closure.
Be careful not to dehumanize people you disagree with.
Being kind to someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re fake.
People tend to be more thoughtful and kinder when they have found a little happiness and peace of mind.
"How can I respond from a place of clarity and strength, rather than continuing to react in anger and frustration to the painful experiences I've been forced to live through?"
Think about that question for a moment.
Read it again, and sit with it.
Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, pause for a few seconds, take a few deep breaths, and make space for a healthy change of state—for something new to enter...
It's time to consciously redirect your focus by taking it away from something unchangeable that drags you down, and instead zero it in on something small and actionable that moves you forward in the present moment.
4 Hard Choices that Make You Happier in the Long Run
You can choose to be present when it would be easier to pick up your phone.
You can choose to do a workout when it would be more comfortable to sit around.
You can choose to create something special when it would be quicker to consume something mediocre.
You can choose to invest in yourself when it would take less effort to procrastinate.
‘New normal’ anxiety: A therapist’s guide
A therapist’s guide to self-care
Self-care is the practice of taking action to improve your health.
We can do this regularly or just from time to time, but it’s important to turn this abstract concept into a concrete goal.
I've written a blog on the ‘6 domains of self-care’, including my top tips on how to give yourself a little love.
Physical self-care
This is about taking care of our physical body and getting back to basics.
Eat regularly and in a way that nourishes your body
Exercise regularly
Boost your sleep
Psychological self-care
We all know it is important to take care of our mind.
This might include seeing mental health professionals or simply doing things to help us recharge.
Turn off phone notifications
Keep scheduled therapy appointments
Take time for reflection
Emotional self-care
This involves your relationship with yourself.
Check in with your feelings and see how you’re doing.
Keep a journal
Vent your frustrations
Engage in opportunities to create happiness
Physiotherapist - Working from home: 4 health hacks
Plump it up
Make your chair more ergonomic.
Add cushions and a foot rest to take care of your lower back.
Go for a raise
Try shaking up your desk design.
Raising your laptop will help to protect your posture.
Break it down
Take microbreaks.
Regular movement helps prevent muscular pains.
Stretch yourself
That's it.
Stretch.
Stretching at your desk will reduce the risk of muscle strain.
3 simple techniques to help improve your breathing
Breathing control
This means just breathing easily, using the least effort.
It helps you to relax.
Place your hand on your tummy, below your ribs.
Feel your tummy rise and fall as you breathe gently through your nose.
Let go of any tension, just breathe as you need to
Deep breathing
This helps to fill the lower areas of your lungs.
Take a long, slow deep breath in.
At the end of the breath in, hold the air for 2 to 3 seconds before letting the air out gently.
Try to keep your shoulders relaxed.
Repeat for 3 or 4 deep breaths.
Huffing
This is a way of clearing mucus from your lungs.
Take a breath in and then breathe it out quickly through your mouth, as if trying to mist up a mirror.
Once any mucus has moved upwards, you should find it easier to cough it out. But there is no need to try and force up mucus.
Always finish with more relaxed breathing control (exercise 1) after the huffing exercise.
A to Zzz... our top tips for a good night's sleep
Be consistent
Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day – and avoid napping throughout the day, if possible.
Create the right environment
When it is time for sleep, make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool
(The NHS recommends 18-24C for adults and 16-20C for children).
Have a change of scene
If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing elsewhere.
Try reading or drinking some non-caffeinated herbal tea, and stay off social media and news sites, which can often be anxiety-inducing.
Let Your Inner Child Out
Sometimes the grown up in you needs a break.
So, every now and then, release your inner child and enjoy some carefree fun.
See the world with childlike wonder.
Ask lots of questions.
Revisit one of your favourite childhood books or movies.
How will you let your inner child come out to play?
All You Need Is Less
If you're wanting more love, more peace, more meaning, more focus, you'll probably find that all you need is, less.
Less expectations, less talk, less buying, less thinking, less stuff, less stress…. Are you ready for less?
Rise to the Challenge
Every now and then, obstacles and challenges come along; be it at work, in your relationships or elsewhere.
And even if it seems impossible, rise to the challenge of trying to face and overcome the obstacles.
Rise to the challenge and you may get to see your attitudes and habits at work, see what needs tweaking, and in the process, you may discover the strength of your ability and increase your self-esteem.
Say Yes to Everything
There have been books, movies and talks about people who say yes to everything.
Would you ever consider saying yes to everything that comes your way?
Say yes to everything and you may take yourself out of your comfort zone and make unexpected discoveries.
But say yes to everyone and everything, and you may end up overwhelmed and frazzled.
So maybe be more selective and smart about what you say yes to.
Feeling Judged?
Feeling judged by others?
We can’t avoid being judged, but we can avoid letting others' judgments affect us negatively.
Next time you feel you're being judged, put things in perspective by asking yourself:
Are they really judging me?
Or is it all in my head?
Is there something I can do to improve without feeling pressured to change who I am and what I do?
Remember, no one can make you feel anything unless you let them.
Let go of feeling judged and choose how you want to feel.
Your World, Your Canvas
The world is your canvas, your thoughts and actions are the brushstrokes, and your feelings and moods are the colours.
What are you painting on the canvas of your world?
Second-Guessing Yourself
It's ok to second-guess yourself sometimes.
But if you're second-guessing yourself all the time, doubting yourself and your decisions, it's only going to over-complicate things.
So stop second-guessing yourself, and start trusting yourself. Trust yourself to make good decisions, and if they don't work out, make another one.
Trust yourself to do the best you can, and if you don't, it's ok, do better the next time.
Pandemic: Changes in Professional's Attitudes & Practice
Including investing in relationships
Research: Consuming fruit and veg and exercising can make you happier
Too much free time may be almost as bad as too little
Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance
Economics of happiness – local futures
Beyond Conspiracy: Framing Meaningful Activism
Gabor Maté supports the localization movement
Why are we running harder and faster just to keep a roof over our heads?
Why does our food get flown around the world and back again?
Why is the gap between rich and poor widening to obscene levels?
Because nation states are allowing global corporations to run the show.
There is nothing evolutionary or inevitable about our current system; it’s man-made.
And if enough of us come together, we can change it.
Values are shifting. Culture is turning
Increasingly, people are seeing through the false promises of the global consumer culture.
They are recognizing the limitations of the rat-race, and the emptiness of conventional ideas about “success” and “progress”.
Not surprisingly, there is a corresponding surge of interest in indigenous knowledge to guide the creation of healthier, more localized futures.
"But what can I do?!" Introducing the Localization Action Guide
Intersectionality
♿ The benefits system in this country is a disgrace
♿ How many people are fighting for benefits where you live?
Mencap - Share your experience with us
"Upset and disgusted" at Travelodge – PETITION
Office for National Statistics - Outcomes for disabled people in the UK
Mencap - Tell councils: Count Disabled Children In
Share community - How to become a better communicator
National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi)
Small Supports - Thinking Differently About How We Support People
Free Webinars: Annual health checks for people with learning disabilities – 17th March
SCIELine: New strengths-based approaches resources and learning
Social care White Paper: News bulletin
Face-to-face care: Social care newsletter
Update on Liberty Protection Safeguards guidance
Disability Right UK has helplines
100 people held more than 20 years in ‘institutions’
Police officer fired for taking photos of people being sectioned
Press coverage for autistic man in isolation prompts Council action
Severely ill inpatient died after DWP forced him to leave hospital to make benefit claim
Disabled woman left begging a bus driver to let her travel home safely
The Mayor's Entrepreneur competition & training
Government White Paper fails to re-build the care system
Law Commission recommends adding disability to list of hate crimes
DWP refuses to publish report that found Disabled claimants had “unmet needs”
Councils waste £253 million fighting parents at SEND tribunals since 2014
Mental health impact of leaseholder cladding scandal
All PIP claimants to be offered apply online option
End Fuel Poverty Coalition – PETITION
People deprived of liberty due to misapplication of Mental Health + Capacity Acts
Sickle cell patients ‘face racism in NHS’
Share your experiences of seeing or posting online content about suicide or self-harm
Ground-breaking inquiry questions ‘Whose social care is it anyway?’
DWP failures mean dying people are being rejected for PIP
DWP ignoring concerns about Disabled benefit claimants’ deaths
Factsheet focus: factsheet 55 – universal credit
"Sharp rise" in DWP benefit death reviews "deeply concerning"
DWP to stop ‘cold-calling’ Disabled people to make low benefit ‘offers’
Our work capability assessment factsheet
DWP refuse to publish analysis of £20-week Universal Credit uplift ‘as it is not public interest’
Universal Credit cuts will come as ‘a shock’
Disabled children face digital divide
Health and Disability Green Paper – a cause for concern
New body to tackle health disparities set to launch
Lords: Government failing to implement Equality Act
‘I would have closed Cawston Hall’ - Norfolk Council care boss – Jeesal Group
A fifth of housing not fit for good health – Good Home Inquiry
Elections Bill bad news for Disabled voters
Austerity cuts killed tens of thousands from 2010 onwards
Over two thirds of Universal Credit claimants currently in arrears while living costs rise
Disabled claimant died underweight, ‘unkempt and dirty’ after ESA and PIP wrongly stopped
Disability Benefits Without the Fight - PETITION
Excluded children put in ‘unsafe’ institutions
Disability Horizons launches new online wellbeing community
Social care plans expose rich vs poor divide in terms of home loss
DWP urged to reveal algorithm that ‘targets’ Disabled people for benefit fraud
Almost £3bn to be awarded to private sector to assess disability benefits
Inquiry sought into deaths of 369 mental distress patients in Sussex Trust’s care
Covid highlights social security system is “simply unfit for purpose”
DWP blocks publication of research on effectiveness of benefit sanctions
Disabled people’s experiences of the benefits system: Committee publishes withheld Government-commissioned research
Disability strategy ruled unlawful, DWP denied permission to appeal
Disabled people five times more likely to experience food poverty, says Food Foundation
DWP admits wrongly refusing PIP to record number of Disabled people
Two-thirds of NHS Trusts failing to support equal access to care for Disabled patients
BBC Young Reporter Competition by 27th March
Citizens Advice energy advice
+ lots more!
Holyrood Committee report into a ban on Conversion Practices
You can watch parliament in action here
You can become a member of any NHS foundation trust – just look on their website?
Court upholds Census guidance - trans men and women can self-identify their lived sex
Care and Support Alliance - An appeal for your story
Contact csa@nas.org.uk
Act now for safer homes for people with MND
sign up for a free craft campaign pack
Land + other views
Working to ensure a fairer, kinder, and better society
We must never blame the victims
Exposé: Sexist, homophobic, and violent religious resources
We are not a Christian country
Did you know that bishops are speaking and voting for us in the House of Lords?
The only other sovereign state in the world where clerics vote in Parliament is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Clearly, we’re in need of change.
Majority against bishops in the Lords
What should we think about death?
What makes something right or wrong?
Important: Our worst fears come true? – ASSAULT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN UK
An amazing list of people + organisations
Ask your MP to close down illegal schools
Compassion wins as Austria legalises assisted dying
Tell the UK Government to support humanist marriages
A big step forward – MPs debate humanist marriage in Westminster
Help us ban 'conversion therapy' right now!
Land justice UK – Land and Food
New land report out on land reform in Scotland
police, crime, sentencing and courts bill
You can find a Member of the House of Lords and write to them asking them to review this dangerous bill
A win in the fight for land rights – PETITION
Human rights
Change The Covid Guidance In Psychiatric Wards
The British Institute of Human Rights
Hear from experts on Human Rights reform!
Boris, it's time to commit – PETITION
Stop The #AntiRefugeeBill petition
What do Priti Patel’s constituents want?
Heartbreaking deaths in the Channel: tell your MP enough is enough – EMAIL MP
What exactly is the hostile environment?
Thank you for seeing the human not the label
Migrants Organise is taking the Home Office to Court!
New Plan for Immigration is same old Hostile Environment
This Refugee Week we want to share our New Dreams
Share our message of dignity and welcome
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published a statement calling for the abolition of all NHS charging, becoming the first Royal College to call for more than a temporary suspension of these discriminatory and harmful Hostile Environment policies.
2 minute action: The COVID inquiry must not forget migrants
What is happening with the anti-refugee Borders Bill?
Dismantling the hostile environment - podcasts
Freedom from Torture – close the barracks
Help with Freedom from Torture’s strategy
Urgent: Stop the UK Decriminalising Torture
New Plan for Immigration - Consultation Guidance
URGENT: Act now to protect refugees from Priti Patel's New Plan.
Urgent: shocking news – EMAIL MP
write to your local newspaper against the anti refugee bill
Safe passage – We need your help – write to a Peer today
Safe Passage v. the Government
Priti's plan abandons child refugees – TAKE ACTION
Safe Routes Save Lives- EMAIL MP
We need safe routes now - PETITION
Support Lord Alf Dubs – EMAIL A PEER
UK and Ukraine – LETTER TO PRITI PATEL
Stop Priti Patel’s pre-Brexit race to deport trafficking & torture survivors
What do you most want to fight for in 2021?
This is a humanitarian disaster. Close the detention camps now
URGENT: Priti Patel is winding the clock back on women’s rights - PETITION
WE OPPOSE UNJUST DEPORTATIONS - PETITION
URGENT: NO OFFSHORE DETENTION – EMAIL MP
Survivors of Napier Barracks beat the Home Office in court
Six men who Priti Patel detained at Napier Barracks have proved in court that she violated their human rights.
Stop union busting in Morocco! – PETITION
Tell Denmark: Syria is not safe for refugees to return. Reverse your shameful decision.
Third sector + campaigning
Third Sector – Governance bulletin
Give communities more power over local assets and a £2bn support fund, report urges
Giving by the super-rich could be perpetuating social inequality, academics conclude
Charities lost almost £8.6m to fraud last year, latest figures show
Top earners at Wellcome Trust paid almost £8m each after investments boomed
Adeela Warley: In 2022 let’s make social media a place for hope, not hate
This is a charity! - Wendy
Lots of interesting events
KVA's training programme for Autumn/Winter
4 in 10 children in London live in poverty
Developing a 2040 Community Vision for Kingston
1 in 4 are living in poverty after housing costs
Source: London’s poverty profile 2021
KVA training programme January - March 2022
Including free Mindfulness training
Share your views and vision for Kingston upon Thames - 1st + 3rd March
Snapshot of Kingston's Voluntary and Community Activity
We believe that anyone can be a force for change
Together we explore change, share knowledge and learn from change-makers
Transforming power for social change
Can get places for free email info@smk.org.uk
Worried about the Policing Bill? Wondering what you can do? Find out how to get involved
31 March
What can we learn from what goes wrong as well as what goes right?
26 April
How do you know when you’re getting there?
26 May
Is involvement without tokenism possible?
21 June
Climbing out of our silos – can we tackle big issues together?
Want to be part of it?
Register and book your free places now.
Book now for the April 2022 Campaign Carousel programme
You can ask for a free space
The 2021 Campaigner Survey Results are in!
Support + more ideas!
Demand Egyptian authorities immediately release Ramy Shaath!
Boris Johnson needs to hear this
Your chance to stand for election at this year's AGM!
by 15th April 2022 contact returningofficer@amnesty.org.uk
Mental illness is a lie which causes untold damage
Whistleblowing, patient feedback, visiting restrictions + events ...
PHSO seeks patients views on new strategy
Published guidance for Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) teams
Start engagement early
Provide clear and accessible public information
Build relationships with excluded groups
Co-produce and redesign services and tackle system priorities in partnership with people and communities.
The NHS Constitution for England
Call for Welsh Government apology after failings at Ysbyty Gwynedd mental health unit
Vulnerable man Clive Treacey 'failed in life and death'
Share your story with the BBC
Contactjulie.ball@bbc.co.uk
Opportunity to shape national audit
contact Kim Rezel onkim.rezel@hqip.org.uk
Why asylum seekers deserve better healthcare, and how we can give it to them
HM Government Public Appointments - Patient Safety Commissioner
Government launches cancer consultation
From Patient association helpline – change in staff results in long-awaited apology
Muriel* called our helpline recently to update our advisers on a complaint they had supported her with in the past, which finally had a good outcome.
Muriel had made a formal complaint about a hospital.
She wasn't t happy with the final response she'd received from the hospital and, so, contacted the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
The PHSO failed to uphold Muriel's complaint.
The Ombudsman could find no fault in the hospital's response and said Muriel wouldn’t achieve anything by taking the complaint further.
At this point, the complaint had been going on about three years.
The PHSO refused to accept any evidence from Muriel.
But recently Muriel saw that the hospital had appointed a new complaint manager.
Muriel contacted the manager who offered to meet her to find more about the complaint.
After the meeting, the new manager apologised to Muriel and accepted that the hospital had been in the wrong.
Muriel told our advisers she was happy to see the positive approach from the new complaints manager at the hospital.
However, Muriel is very disappointed with the PHSO and plans to take her concerns further to help other patients.
*Name changed to protect privacy.
To contact our helpline team, call 0800 3457115 between 9.30am and 5pm on weekdays or email helpline@patients-association.org.uk.
See our website for more ways to get in touch.
And remember, we have a range of information on our website from our very popular nutrition checklist right through to understanding your medicines.
Collaboration must be at the heart of the future of health and care
Share your ideas on how patient data are used
Review highlights stark ethnic healthcare inequalities in the UK
Maternity Scandal: Fighting for the Truth
Making the country work for all of us
ZERO SUICIDE ALLIANCE – FREE TRAINING
NEW suicide awareness training for university students
Living Wage for care workers – EMAIL MP
Nuffield trust - What has been the impact of Covid-19 across the UK countries?
What can be done to tackle LGBTQ+ health inequalities?
Health Management and Policy Alert: 20 July 2021
Including reforming the MHA: government response to consultation
Not listening to us? – Wendy
Understanding integration: how to listen to and learn from people and communities
Including poor health + housing + obesity + bad roads
Health Management and Policy Alert: 10 September 2021
Including Home for all
What is needed to reduce ethnic minority health inequalities?
The pandemic has further opened up deep health inequalities
Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
Good homes for all: a proposal to fix England's housing
The Health and Care Bill: six key questions
Read our updated position on integrated care
Reflections on the Health and Care Bill
Integrated care systems highlights
How much longer and further are health inequalities set to rise?
How will integrated care systems work under the Health and Care Bill?
Including details of a free course “an introduction to leading with kindness and compassion in health + social care
The power of those small acts of kindness
The WHO Prison Health Framework: a framework for assessment of prison health system performance
How does the UK's health care performance compare internationally?
The cost of poor housing in England
Integrated care systems highlights
Left behind: a decade of intergenerational unfairness
Invisible women: understanding women’s experiences of long-term imprisonment
What does successful adult social care reform look like?
Listen: Tackling health inequalities head on through integrated care
Your health and care explained update
New podcast: What is the Health and Care Bill and why does it matter?
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
From harm to hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives
Integrated care systems and social care: the opportunities and challenges
Integrated care systems highlights
28th March 2022 - Using patient insight for quality improvement
Improving quality of care: the vital role of people’s voices - 28-31th March
Healthcare regulation: deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate by 31st March
Updated: Key facts and figures about the NHS
New explainer: How does the system hear from communities?
Robot performs first laparoscopic surgery without human help
Using digital technology to transform care pathways - 9th March
Health and social care integration: joining up care for people, places and populations
Health Management and Policy Alert: 22 February 2022
Westminster Health Forum (WHF) policy conference – PROVIDE FREE SPACES – JUST APPLY?
A relaxation technique to help you
People’s theatre
Brixton House - Meet our new Associate Artists!
We Are History: Race, Colonialism & Climate Change
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules
AGM returns, plus new residents and commissions this autumn
Exploring interactive fiction in gaming, plus new exhibitions
Strategies for Making Music + Artist Opportunities
New residency exploring artificial intelligence
Exhibitions opening night: Poulomi Basu and Sutapa Biswas / Thursday 3 March at Autograph
✨ More incredible speaker announcements
Justice
Every step we take towards a Basic Income will liberate power in the hands of the citizen
Paddy Ashdown
Welsh basic income pilot have been published
In a statement from Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice
The pilot will be targeted at care leavers
All young people leaving care that turn 18 over a 12 month period starting this summer will be invited to participate
That is expected to be about 500 people
Participants will receive the payments for 24 months starting from the month after their 18th birthday
A £1,600 a month basic income will be paid each month
Universal basic income motion passed by Richmond Council
69% of people in Wales support basic income pilots
Stockton, California who released incredible results from the experiment there!
Start your own Basic Income Conversation today – TOOLKIT
Is Biden leading the United States towards a basic income?
We've urged ministers to back basic income for mental health – Peace of mind project
✊ Let's make Basic Income a reality - PETITION
The Basic Income Conversation is growing... here's how
Universal Credit cut: now is the time for basic income
Last week the £20 Universal Credit uplift was cut.
5.8 million people claim Universal Credit in England, Scotland and Wales. Overnight, their incomes fell by £1,000 a year.
If they’d had a basic income, they wouldn’t have been plunged into precarity.
Now is the time for a basic income.
There are thousands of people across the UK working to make that clear.
How do we pay for a basic income?
Life isn’t a party for most of us – 2nd March 2022
Parents against child exploitation
Watch our new film about spotting the signs of child exploitation
Safeguarding training – perhaps ask for a free space ?
Book on our FREE live webinars for parents and carers this March
Prosecuting mental health – accountability or criminalisation?
A different understanding? How the CJS discriminates against those with autism
When should a family dispute end up in court?
Barely legal? The experience of remote tribunal hearings
The forgotten people? Prisoners on remand in the pandemic
Does L&D stop the revolving door of police custody?
Does diversion from court have an image problem?
Computer says yes – you will pay a fine and get a criminal record
Covid justice – how not to do it?
Altruistic up-tariffing? The pitfalls of more rehabilitative police cautions
Children imprisoned on remand – the stark reality of racial bias
Only by radically shrinking the magistrates’ court can the Crown Court backlog be reduced
Is justice for victims always criminal justice?
Does the defendant in the magistrates’ court get a fair hearing?
Want to build trust in the police? Detain less
Making child remand a last resort
Do people who get in trouble with the law deserve double punishment?
Sign the petition and tell President Biden to fulfill his promise to clear the federal death row.
How This Minneapolis Man Is Healing Collective Trauma Through Creative Counseling and Mentoring
Trauma-Informed Training Attempts to Bridge Gap Between Newark Residents and Cops
A Model for Police and Community Relations
An up-close portrait of the people doing violence intervention work
New nonprofit uses yoga to address Black men’s mental health
Community-based violence prevention works, but it needs sustained support
Truth, justice + accountability
Progress on the legal aid for inquests campaign
⚖️ Watch & share our new video demanding access to justice for bereaved families
Leon – Nadia – Sam – Matthew -Zoe – Marshall – Jane – Sammy – Coco – Trevor – Shane – Abdul – Lamont – Andrew – Steven – Gavin – Jason – Micheal – Jack – Alex
including connection cafes
Less crime, safer communities, fewer people in prison
Punished when they should have been helped
Stop building women's prisons – EMAIL MP
focussed on reducing the unnecessary arrests of women, reducing child arrests and ending the criminalisation of children in care
Changing outcomes for Black people in the criminal justice system
"Nobody really cares about prisons"
Arrests of children have been reduced by 74% over the last decade, in another major step forward for our successful campaign.
Since 2010, the Howard League for Penal Reform has been working with police forces across England and Wales to reduce child arrests, helping to ensure that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls do not have their lives blighted by a criminal record.
We campaign on a wide range of issues including children in the criminal justice system,change inside prisons, community sentencing and policing.
We have an in-house expert legal team who represent children in custody.
We strive to minimise the human suffering and social harms that are both causes of crime and consequences of punishment.
We stand for constructive forms of justice that contribute to building a safer, fairer society.
We stand against abuse and mistreatment and all forms of discrimination in the criminal justice system.
Prisons create conflict, put a strain on the police and hospitals and thwart human potential – they simply do not work.
Sadly, the government are planning on expanding our already over-crowded prison population.
The recently published Prisons Strategy White Paper has dedicated £4 billion to new prions places, with the Ministry of Justice’s own projections predicting the population to reach almost 99,000 over the next five years.
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN - it's time to prioritise wellbeing in prisons
Being Well Being Equal campaign update
Community coaching and campaigning for better wellbeing services
Looking back... A message from our CEO
“Being creative has helped me survive my prison sentence”
It's going to be a good one! ✨ - including Ai Weiwei
You can email + sign petitions without donating to anything
MoD document approves British troops for illegal bombing, charity claims
US drone strikes – SEND A MESSAGE
I’m still in Guantánamo - TWEET
Ministers are deciding whether to save a life
Emergency in Hungary – PLEASE SIGN
EU: take action against Hungary’s anti- LGBT+ law
Stop homophobia, transphobia and misogyny in Italy
China: WeChat bans LGBT+ students – PETITION
"Fists bumping into my face and body" – PETITION
No more "conversion therapies" in Colombia – PETITION
Bulgaria must prosecute this homophobic presidential candidate! – PETITION
Make online spaces safe for LGBT+ people
We need to talk about Russia, again – PETITION
Take action on today's Trans Day of Remembrance
Viki's speech at the 2021 MTV EMA
Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and H&M: Protect your LGBT+ staff in China!
Your signature could save Salman's life
Emergency: Afghan LGBT+ people in danger
Anti-Trans Bill in Guatemala Must Be Stopped
Russia: They’re shutting us down
Behind the scenes of China's queer community
police facial recognition is unlawful – PETITION
New poll calls for rights-respecting pandemic response – PETITION
Scrap the Coronavirus Act – end human rights lockdown
DON’T DECRIMINALISE TORTURE – email your MP
Our ability to hold Gov to account is under threat
You do not have to donate when signing a petition – petitions are free to sign
Safeguard our rights and access to justice – PETITION
The Protect Everyone Bill – EMAIL MP
NO MORE POLICE POWERS – PETITION
I stood up to power. Sign the petition so you can too
Government must not be untouchable – PETITION
Liberty Investigates: Our biggest story yet – Esparto 11
Tell your MP to protect our right to protest
Don’t let the Government become untouchable - PETITION
Facial recognition: A year since world-first legal challenge
Stop the Policing Bill - PETITION
Liberty Investigates reveals police 'fail' hate crime victims
Stop the Government becoming untouchable - PETITION
WATCH our new protest videos – EMAIL MP
URGENT: protect protest rights – EMAIL MP
Don’t let Gov hide from accountability – PETITION
On Thursday 22 February 1934,
Liberty was founded to defend “the whole spirit of British freedom”
Now, on our 88th anniversary, our fight is more important than ever as the Government attempts to shut down the ways people can hold it to account.
We won’t let the Government become untouchable.
Democratic crisis
In a democratic society, people must be able to hold the powerful to account – but the Government is trying to rewrite the rules.
It wants to ‘overhaul’ the Human Rights Act. The HRA forces public authorities to respect rights and enables people to enforce their rights in court if they fall short.
But the Government wants to remove this obligation on public authorities and make it near-impossible for anyone to get to court and see justice.
Similarly, its Judicial Review Bill will change judges’ powers so challenging the Government’s action in court won’t be worthwhile.
Plans for mandatory voter ID which could prevent millions of people having their say in elections.
And the Government is sidelining MPs when making laws, giving them little time to scrutinise proposals.
Alongside these attacks, the anti-protest Policing Bill is back in Parliament next week.
Last month the House of Lords dealt a major blow to the Government’s plans by ripping out some of the worst proposals.
But ministers are now trying to get some back in – including criminalising noisy protests.
Noise is at the very heart of protest.
It is literally how we make our voices heard.
Liberty was founded following the oppressive treatment of protesters on the National Hunger March, and we will always work to protect this key pillar of democracy.
Together we can stop this democratic crisis in its tracks.
Email MP to protect our rights
TELL THE GOVERNMENT TO STOP THE ATTACKS ON OUR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
Repeal the Coronavirus Act 2020
Fighting NHS Charging – What can you do now?
We need civil liberties defenders like you
Find the secret algorithms YOUR council is using...
Unparalleled State Powers as Covid Cases Plummet
Mass surveillance found *unlawful* by Europe's highest human rights court
Vaccine passes to be mandatory! – ACTION
Exposed: The Poverty Panopticon
NEW: Government & big tech censorship EXPOSED
BREAKING: #NoCovidID projected onto Parliament! – EMAIL MP
NEWS: Sajid Javid can't bear to watch THIS! – EMAIL MP
Vaccine passports - we’re on the front foot...
⚠️ Wales vote leaves us shocked
We’ve been censored by YouTube
'Vaccine passports, a solution looking for a problem' - David Davis MP
From citizen scores to facial recognition - we're fighting back!
Authoritarianism is on the rise
We've launched a legal challenge against Johnson's Covid IDs
Victory for civil liberties in the UK
The Chinese state-owned CCTV watching you – PETITION
Welsh Covid passes have "unmeasurable" impact
Covid passes in Wales & Northern Ireland scrapped
NETPOL – the network for police monitoring
Black Lives Matter protest – VIDEO
new report condemns "revenge policing" and calls for scrapping new police powers
They want to silence criticism
Boris Johnson misled Parliament
They want to block public interest
This is not the Britain we should be
Other information sources
Sanders and McDonnell on community wealth
Land banks and community land trusts
Community wealth building comes to Scotland
How to Make a Democracy Economy
South Korea explores community wealth building
How NY can enter ‘a new era of public power’
Ask Prof Wolff: Is Nordic Socialism a Progressive Step?
How Capitalism Shapes our Food
The Challenge of China - New Global Capitalism Lecture
Recommended Reading list on Cooperatives.
Economic Update: Germany Shifts Left
Ask Prof Wolff: Taxing Billionaires
Wolff Responds: Capitalism's False Defenses
All Things Co-op: Cuba's New Cooperative Legislation
Global Capitalism: The Problems with China's Economy
we learn about the psychology of control and domination
understand our personal connections to capitalism’s structure
All Things Co-op: Lessons from Venezuela’s Social Economy
Ask Prof Wolff: From Capitalism to Co-op
All Things Co-op: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
Casino Capitalism and a just transition: the Taxcast podcast
A tide-turning moment in the global struggle for tax justice
Including an item about UK care homes
How economics ruins economies: PODCAST
Where does your country rank on the Corporate Tax Haven Index 2021?
The Whiteness of Wealth: podcast with Prof Dorothy Brown
Podcast: From an uncaring to a caring economy + global minimum corporate tax plan
The Real American Dream – in Scandinavia: PODCAST
Podcast: The capture of Malta and the fight for justice
"You need to be very strong.
To do the job that she did you really have to be your own person.
You couldn’t be the kind of person who worries what people might think of you, and you really have to say, no, I’m not going to adapt, I’m not going to fall into that mould.
I’m going to break it and keep breaking.”
Paul Caruana Galizia
Podcast: Degrowth: liberation from ‘growthism’
Pandora Papers shows transparency failure is an accountability failure
Losses to OECD tax havens could vaccinate global population three times over, study reveals
Jersey’s Pandora’s Boxes: The Tax Justice Network podcast
Losses to OECD tax havens could vaccinate global population three times over, study reveals
PODCAST: 2022, hopes and fears
Our tax system is broken – EMAIL MP
Support President Biden’s proposal to stop global tax dodging - PETITION
Pandora Papers shows transparency failure is an accountability failure
Women disproportionately affected by soaring Mental Health Act detentions
How the UK government is undermining the Freedom of Information Act
Report says soldiers shot three dead at Myanmar factory making US cowboy boots
From private emails to Post-it Notes: How politicians avoid scrutiny
At least 16 Tory allies given paid ‘independent’ roles in government
Grim fall in life expectancy exposes UK government’s ‘levelling up’ lies
From revelation to reckoning to revolution: In pursuit of racial justice
The war on Indigenous rights in Brazil is intensifying
Tories have accepted £2.6m from ‘shadowy’ donors since Boris Johnson became PM.
Forget the spin – new English NHS bill is all about cutting our right to healthcare
Campaigners also highlighted measures that weaken the NHS’s legal duty to provide healthcare to people in England – and that apply stringent new financial rules.
Johnson charged taxpayers £28,647 for part of the refurb
The UK is the number one home for suspect funds +
20% of UK political donations come from just ten men
The disturbing rise of the corporate mercenaries
Big Tech firms paying below minimum wage left off UK government’s name-and-shame list
Tackling the climate crisis must not come at the expense of eradicating global hunger
Ever seen 40 Lords a-leaping? You have now
Scottish Green members hold unprecedented power. How will they use it?
‘We’re stuck, everyone is hungry’: Afghan evacuees stranded at UK airport
Will Syria’s disappeared ever find justice?
If we lose the Amazon, our world will lose its future
Trans activism isn’t just about pronouns and bathrooms. It’s about class struggle
Deep ties between anti-abortion groups and Conservative Brexiteers laid bare
10,000 Airbnbs and nowhere to live
A playground for the rich and famous, and the second poorest region in northern Europe.
More than 18,000 empty homes and 16,000 people on a waiting list for public housing.
Some 10,000 Airbnbs and, at one-point last month, fewer than 50 homes available to rent.
Located in the UK, this is a place so desirable that almost no one can live there.
One local resident told us she is now resigned to living in a tent, with her belongings stored in her car, as this was her “only other option right now”
24 lords placed under investigation over financial interests
Liverpool rises in opposition to arms fair as legal challenge is mounted
The ‘meme machine’ behind 2019 Tory success returns
three-quarters of adults believe transparency is important
The UK government has spent at least £500,000 from public funds trying to prevent the release of information under FOI legislation over the last five years
What the Tories want to do with our health data, and why we need to stop them
Alan Sugar among 24 lords to have broken finance rules, parliamentary watchdog rules
Most of Europe fails to guarantee access to abortion care
Why an IMF loan is not the solution to Lebanon’s economic crisis
Nicaragua: the revolution betrayed
The Pandora Papers show the true face of global Britain
Oil and gas firms have given £1m to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives
Revealed: Electoral Commission’s private concerns about Russian Tory donors
Government’s poisonous Elections bill is designed to cement Tory rule
Furlough fraud isn’t a dirty word
BP paid ex-MI6 spy firm to snoop on green campaigners
Tory MP has banked £150k from oil firm
The backlash is working - PETITION
British MPs net £6m from second jobs
Mark Carney likes to talk green, but he’s just another agent of the status quo
Why, as an American transgender woman, I don’t feel it’s safe to visit the UK
Exit denied: women losing the right to leave in the Philippines
The Yemeni women and girls being illegally imprisoned
This week, we uncover a ‘cash for honours’ scandal
after working with The Sunday Times to reveal that Conservative Party treasurers who donate £3m seem almost guaranteed to be given a seat in the House of Lords
British politics is an oligarchs’ cocktail party. Tory ministers are the waiters
Greenland’s government bans oil drilling, leads indigenous resistance to extractive capitalism
“ I got punched in the face by a presidential candidate’ says LGBTIQ activist in Bulgaria
COP26: Why many are sceptical of politicians’ $19bn pledge to save the Amazon
The UK government’s plan to reform data-protection laws are terrifying
In Sudan’s new revolt, women and youth will not settle for less than full civilian rule
As a Christian Ghanaian woman, I’m appalled by the proposed anti-LGBTIQ law
Migrants are paying the price of Belarus’s ‘hybrid warfare’
Meet the UK activist bringing clothes and community to trans youth
Include women and Indigenous people in the fight against the climate crisis
Forget the spin – new English NHS bill is all about cutting our right to healthcare
France and UK can stop deaths in Channel – but not by increasing border patrols
US ‘dark money’ groups behind Mississippi abortion case spend tens of millions around the world
US Christian Right groups promoting anti-LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ in the US and Central America
No turning back: Women human rights defenders remain steadfast in perilous times
UK’s transparency watchdog has a terrible transparency record of its own
Focusing on extremism won’t counter far-Right violence
From mobilization to solidarity: The power of feminist struggles in Latin America
The UK government is looking to profit from closing borders to asylum seekers
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
Oligarchs and officials from corrupt states own £2bn of UK luxury property
What it’s like to live in a country with a near total ban on abortion
Zuckerberg’s metaverse is a natural extension of capitalist extraction of our data
If Tory MPs want to protect freedom, why are they supporting the Elections Bill?
International refugee charity calls for Greek border investigation
The challenge of Chile: why I am optimistic
‘We were revolutionaries’: Angelo Pezzana, founder of Italy’s first LGBT movement
A Not-So-Happy New Year for Britain's private renters
As Kazakhstan burns over inequality, the elite’s wealth is safe and sound in London
Why Tony Blair is just the right person to get Britain’s top honour
Our ancestors worked less and had better lives. What are we doing wrong?
‘Gay cake’ case shows power of US Christian Right
Tory MP calls for ministers to freeze Kazakh elite’s UK assets
If we are to ‘live with’ COVID-19, we must decide what we really value
What really happened in Kazakhstan? A feminist perspective
Rishi Sunak could become PM. Here’s what he doesn’t want you to know
Remembering the Holocaust must prompt us to challenge today’s human rights abuses
Labour peer asks about fake names on Companies House register following openDemocracy report
Diane Abbott: The cost of living crisis was caused by privatisation
Giulio Regeni’s murder speaks the truth about Egypt – and Europe too
To dismantle white privilege, we must tackle private property rights
London is a ‘magnet for dirty money’, says UK government’s anti-corruption tsar
This Valentine’s Day, let’s reflect on the power of all kinds of love
Forget Russia, blame the fossil gas industry for Europe’s energy supply crisis
Consultancies win £700m in UK government’s COVID spending spree
What would real peacebuilding in Ukraine look like?
Why aren’t more Russians protesting war in Ukraine? We asked an expert
Why is Belarus hosting Russian troops?
200 Russian millionaires bought way into UK in seven years since ‘clampdown’
623 new ‘British’ companies are actually controlled from Russia
+ much more!
Hey, YouTube – leave our kids alone
A lot more to do on government algorithms
Support Facebook content moderators in calling for fair treatment!
Taking on the tech giants: the lawyer fighting the power of algorithmic systems
Join us - tell Sadiq Khan to take action against Uber!
Matt Hancock: Drop your plan to put NHS patients' health data into one massive database - PETITION
fresh evidence: disappearing messages and "government by WhatsApp"
"this algorithm decides who eats and who goes hungry"
Article 19 – defending freedom of expression + information
What does misinformation smell like?
Speaking out on social media takedowns – YOUR HELP NEEDED
Younger people
How to keep children safe online
mental health – SUPPORT INFORMATION
Together we're helping children to report abuse
email the new Minister in charge
A Life More Wild - Dr Alex George & Brook House Woods
Society needs to change. Have your say on how
Supporting your child with anxiety
Malala – Assembly - How you can stand up to anti-Asian racism
Malala: I Fear for My Afghan Sisters
Amplifying the voices of Afghan girls and women
“Completing my education with elephantiasis”
“My life before and after the Taliban takeover”
What is the best form of activism for you?
What this intern learned about how to get scouted on TikTok
Girls forced to marry – PETITION
The Stranger Series with Coram’s Young Citizens
Young Women's Trust - 3 ways we’ve already made a difference in 2021
We see you; we hear you and we care about you – SUPPORT LINES INFORMATION
One in five young women have lost work or future work
57% say they have been affected financially
One in four have taken on extra caring responsibilities
83% said that their mental health had suffered
1 in 10 they have been unable to afford food or other essentials
Ask your MP to do more to prevent online hate speech
Act now: support young women this winter
New report reveals one size fits no one
Including peer researchers
can you help make equality a reality for young women?
Maternal Mental Health Alliance
A step in the right direction for pregnant women's safety at work - EMAIL MP
Are you on maternity leave? Take our survey!
Family Lives Newsletter February 2022
including support video if you are experiencing bullying from your teens + bullying generally
Tips for coping in these anxious times
Read our tips and advice for supporting a friend
If you are in crisis and need immediate support, you can access help from these organisations:
available 24/7 for listening support on 116 123.
text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 to speak to a crisis counsellor.
open 9am-midnight, call 0800 068 41 41 for support around suicidal thoughts and feelings.
CAMHS Crisis Line
a free confidential NHS helpline offering support for young people aged 17 and under in crisis on 0300 303 1320
a free confidential NHS helpline offering support for adults aged 18+ on 0800 012 6549
real-time, online support
0800 1111. 7:30am - 3.30am
0800 58 58 58
0808 808 4994 3pm - 12am everyday
Government bodies
Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures - 2020-21
Still, we suffer - Wendy
NHS confederation - 15th + 16th June 2022
Proposed NHS mental health access standards for patients
CQC launches strategy consultation - we want to hear what you think
Our equality objectives 2021-2025
CQC update for local and regional stakeholders
Now available: State of Care - CQC's annual assessment of health care and social care in England
From Paternalism to human rights
Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report
Monitoring the Mental Health Act
Maternity survey results
HSE Stress eBulletin: Working Minds campaign launches
Office for National Statistics
A report from the Office of National Statistics revealed an estimated 778 people died in England and Wales while homeless in 2019 – an annual increase of7%
This is the fifth year in a row that the number of people who have died has increased.
It is the highest number since records began.
ONS blog - good data from any source can help us report on the global goals to the UN
ONS blog - Unlocking the power of data to better understand private rents
ONS blog - Far from average: How COVID-19 has impacted the Average Weekly Earnings data
How many people fund their own care?
The lasting impact of violence against women and girls
DHSC Voluntary Sector Newsletter – INCLUDING HELPLINE FOR SUPPORTING + BEHAVIOUR
Launch of new autism strategy to help autistic people live more independent and fulfilled lives
Revisiting safeguarding practice
Health and Care Bill: launch of new white paper
LGA Events bulletin February 2022
Inclusive economies and healthy futures: Supporting place-based action to reduce health inequalities
Improvement and innovation bulletin: January 2022
Including applying to be part of their conference
Including monthly Mayor’s Question time
27% of schools are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution.
It took decades to protect our children from cigarette smoke.
We can’t make that mistake again; we must tackle toxic air pollution right now.
That’s why we introduced the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, cleaned up our buses and taxis and tackled emissions from construction sites.
But we must go further to protect the health of Londoners across our city.
My number one priority is to protect the health of Londoners, and the life chances of future generations.
I will do all I can to ensure that every Londoner can breathe clean air.
Clearing the air: pollution in London
nearly 140,000 suffering long-COVID symptoms in London
Access to public toilets in London: Have your say
My society – including support with FOI requests
PETITION - Vital information hidden
NIHR - Lockdown raised anxiety in people with anorexia and their carers, but online resources helped
Transforming out-of-hospital care for people who are homeless
Together in research – Spring 2021
Caring for older people at home can be just as good, or even better, than hospital care
Vegan diet could control blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes
Together in research – Summer 2021
seeking views on ways to substantially reduce research bureaucracy
Opportunities for involvement in NIHR ARC South London
Together in research – Autumn 2021
Together in research – Winter 2021/22
Including paid involvement
Health and Social Care Committee
Local Government Authority – Update
Would you like to shape the future of Patient Safety within the local NHS?
Complete our NHS and ICS websites survey for a chance to win £100 vouchers
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network (WCEN)
In the UK, people with brown skin are being denied equal and compassionate mental health care.
They are more likely to be brought to and kept in hospital without their consent.
They are more likely to access mental health services through the police and criminal justice systems, and to find themselves unwell and back again once released.
People with brown skin, particularly men, are more likely to be forcibly restrained and given more than the recommended amount of medication.
WCEN 2021
If you are unhappy with the care or treatment you have received from the NHS, and would like help to make a complaint, POhWER can help.
They provide guidance, information and advocacy to help people get matters put right.
Telephone: 0203 553 5960
Email: LondonIHCAS@pohwer.net
Letter: London IHCAS Advocacy Hub, POhWER, Hertlands House, Primett Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3EE
If you live in Wandsworth and need support to tell people what you want, and to understand your rights, you can contact VoiceAbility.
They provide advocacy for people who may be vulnerable and need support to speak up about their care needs.
Telephone: 020 7924 7772
Email: wandsworth@voiceability.org
Letter: VoiceAbility, Unit B102, Trident Business Centre, 89 Bickersteth Road, Tooting, London, SW17 9SH
If you are unhappy with the care or treatment you have received from an NHS or social care service, and would like help to make a complaint, Rethink could help. They provide guidance, information and advocacy to help people get matters put right.
Telephone: 300 7900 559
Email: wandradvocacy@rethink.org
Web address: Rethink Advocacy Independent Service in Wandsworth and Richmond leaflet 2.pdf
For guidance and help to find organisations and services to support your health and wellbeing needs, you can contact the Wandsworth Wellbeing Hub.
Telephone: 020 3880 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Email: waccg.wandsworthhub@nhs.net
Letter: Wandsworth Wellbeing Hub, 120 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RH
If you, or someone you know, have / has care and support needs, and you need information and help, you can speak to Wandsworth Adult Social Services. Adult social services provide information and help to adults who have difficulty with everyday things.
Telephone: 020 8871 7707 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Email: accessteam@wandsworth.gov.uk
Letter: Adult Social Care and Public Health, The Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London, SW18 2PU
Emergency out of hours
Please contact the switchboard on 020 8871 6000 and ask for the emergency social worker.
If you need information on the activities and support services that may be available to you and your family, you can contact THRIVE Online (previously known as the Family Information Service).
THRIVE Online provides information and assistance to parents, children, young people and professionals on support services and activities for the 0-19 years’ age group (25 if the young person has a special need).
Telephone: 020 8871 7899 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Email:thriveonline@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk
Letter: THRIVE Online, THE 4, Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London, SW18 2PU
Richmond
The Hearing Voices Group is a Peer Support group run by our service users and supported by Wellbeing Centre staff.
It will take place on the first and second Tuesday of each month, 2-3pm and new people can join after being referred to our Wellbeing Centre.
The group is blended, online and face-to-face (the number of clients is restricted to three)
Courage and creativity - news and greetings from Choice Support
Season of change - news and greetings from Choice Support
Including Directory of services
Talking Bubble - Telephone Befriending with Language Options
Networking and Training for Trustees - Book Now
Developing a Volunteer Management Programme Part 2: Supervising and Supporting Volunteers
including digital inclusion fund
Trustee and Governance Special
Equality and Diversity Matters
Richmond upon Thames Voluntary Fund - Expressions of Interest Invited
Local Vaccination Centres and Winter Wellbeing
Feb 2022 - Children & Young People
Centre for Governance + Scrutiny
Including Anticipating, managing + adapting framework
Special newsletter on council finances
governance & scrutiny newsletter
Richmond council - LBRUT – EVENTS+
Community hub – a dedicated helpline to deal with local enquiries and help signpost people to the right support at this difficult time.
The helpline number is 020 8871 6555.
Or covid19support@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk
Please visit the council’s website for the most up to date information: www.richmond.gov.uk or phone 0208 891 1411
Find out more here: www.richmond.gov.uk/community_hub
Advertise your event / activity on LBRUT website
Got a good idea – get community funding?
Do you know of someone who might benefit from a video Carephone?
Starting Up: How to become a charity or social enterprise
I need help finding food or essential home items
Plans for Twickenham riverside – PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK
Careplace are promoting - Free Community Counselling Service – Available online or over the phone
Struggling to pay your fuel bills? The Council can help
February with Richmond Library Service
£150 Energy Offer| Flooding | Youth Mental Health
Additional grants are also available from the Household Support Fund for food, bills and other essential items, via Citizens Advice Richmond and Richmond AID.
See more information on this here.
Centre for Governance + Scrutiny (CfGS)
Bolstering scrutiny / scrutiny frontiers / guest blogs / Health & Care Bill update
Including anticipate – manage – adapt idea
Health & Care - special newsletter
Governance and scrutiny news from CfGS
From MP - I urge EU nationals in Twickenham to apply for settled status
Afghanistan & Central Asian Association
Stop Levelling Down London’s Transport
Update on proposed SWR service reduction
Pressing Government for Zero Carbon Homes
40.000 deaths per year – Air pollution - EMAIL BORIS
Help with bills + …
Hounslow
You can find details of health services in your area from NHS Choices
Call 999 for emergency services
Emergency and urgent care health services – 111
Hounslow Council: Out of hours social care support – 020 8583 2222 For more information please click here.
Hounslow Council: For more information on Adult social care, please click here.
Hounslow Council: For more information on Children and families, please click here.
CarePlace: Provides a Directory of Services, Information and Guidance enabling direct access to local care and community services. For more information, please click here.
West London NHS Trust – Mental health crisis: 24-hour helpline 0800 328 4444. For more information, please click here.
downloading the free NHS weight loss plan
Anyone can struggle to maintain good mental health from, no matter who they are.
Whilst there's no permanent fix, these 5 free things can help to lighten the load.
1 – Talk to someone.
If you’re not in the place for extra support like therapy this is one of the best things you can do to take care of yourself and others. Or use the power of talking for even more good and become a Community Champion.
2 – Get out in nature.
There are lots of gorgeous green spaces in Hounslow, and across London.
Check out what's going on outdoors this season at in Hounslow.
3 – Set aside time for yourself.
Self-care doesn’t need to mean spending on bath bombs.
Dedicate time to something you love – cooking, reading, gaming, drawing, journaling, watching movies, playing an instrument and more can all help you destress.
4 – Gentle exercise.
You don’t need to do HIIT workouts at the gym to benefit from exercise.
As little as 15-30 minutes of walking can give you a serotonin boost. Looking for something more serious?
Try the free NHS Couch to 5K app or find free classes
5 – Visit
Our Take Care, Take 5 hub offers accessible solutions for mental health concerns.
Find support on physical health, COVID-19 concerns, financial worries, and employment skills here too.
The Art of Coproduction - A Guerrilla Guide
Or ask for one for free?
“Caring in the Community” – Really? by Steph de la Haye
Sutton +
Sutton Healthwatch - Mental Well Being
Sutton Mental Health Foundation - Sutton Wellbeing Line
We all get more forgetful as we get older, but there are things you can do about it.
The way you live your life, and in particular the way in which you eat,
can make a huge difference to your memory, slowing down cognitive decline or even reversing it.
How less pay has affected people's mental health and wellbeing
New podcast: Do we care enough?
New analysis: Care home residents hard hit by reduced hospital care
New report – Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery
What does our ageing population mean for health and social care demand?
Everyday Racism: How racist is Britain?
CRÈME project - stands for Communicating the Race Equality Message Effectively
ROTA Policy E-Newsletter issue 76 - February 2022
Let’s solve data poverty with people – not for them
Digital inclusion as a basic human right
9 million people struggle to use the internet independently and 7 million people
(11% of the UK's adult population)
are still offline
(Digital Nation UK, 2020)
Applications for 2022 now open
Black Identities - Student Discount - Hearing Voices - Wild Therapy
Camden +
Side by side
Does anyone have experience of calling 111 for help with their mental health?
Any thoughts please contact TheSidebySideNetwork@gmail.com
RETHINK webinar 3rd March - Supporting Mental Health in the Community
Hand in Hand peer buddy – feedback requested
Any thoughts please contact TheSidebySideNetwork@gmail.com
Senior C&I/BEH staff recruitment - interview panel position available – by 24th February
Contact thesidebysidenetwork@gmail.com
Learn something new in 22 for free!
New Peer Buddy Scheme - Hand in Hand Islington
Any thoughts please contact TheSidebySideNetwork@gmail.com
[CONSULTATION] Government consultation on claiming PIP/ESA & Assessments
Camden’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy - resident views
Trauma Informed responses - survey and prize draw
Free Community Research online course launches | Co-Production Collective
Second independent audit of ECT published finds patient safety is being put at risk
A second audit of NHS mental health Trusts, using Freedom of Information Act requests has confirmed that both the administration and monitoring of Electroconvulsive Treatment (ECT) in England are failing to guarantee the safety of patients.
ECT involves the passing of sufficient electricity through the brain, under general anaesthesia, to cause a seizure.
Some claim it is a safe and effective treatment for severe depression.
But a recent review found little evidence that it is any better than placebo and concluded that it causes persistent or permanent memory loss in 12% to 55% of patients.1
The largest study to date has just confirmed that it does not, as claimed, prevent suicide.2
The audit confirmed that about 2,500 people are given ECT annually in England.
The majority continue to be women (67%), and over 60 (58%).
More than one in three (37%) are being forcibly given ECT against their will,and 18% of Trusts are not complying with the law regarding second opinions relating to compulsory treatment.
There were slight declines, compared to a previous audit,3 in the use of appropriate measures to assess efficacy, down to 30%, and standardised measures of memory loss, down to 24%.
There was a 47-fold difference between the two Trusts with the highest (Avon & Wiltshire, and North Staffordshire) and the lowest (Mersey Care) rates per capita.
Thus, the probability of getting ECT seems to be a postcode lottery based on the opinions of local psychiatrists.
The majority of Trusts were unable to provide any data for positive outcomes or for adverse effects during treatment (usually a 3-week period involving about 10 electroshocks).
None provided data on efficacy or adverse effects beyond end of treatment.
ECT in England is supposed to be monitored by the Royal College of Psychiatrists via their ‘ECT Accreditation Service’ (ECTAS).
But ECTAS does not monitor some of the issues addressed by this independent audit, such as how many Trusts are using proper assessment measures, how many are complying with the Mental Health Act regarding second opinions for forced treatment, and how many ECT patients had first been offered psychological treatment - in compliance with N.I.C.E. guidelines.
ECTAS has no powers to sanction ECT clinics that fail to meet even their limited set of standards, and has never disaccredited an ECT clinic.
About 10% of ECT clinics do not bother to sign up to the ECTAS process at all.
The audit concluded:
'Given the apparent failure of current monitoring and accrediting ECT clinics in England, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ ECT Accreditation Service (ECTAS), an independent government sponsored review is urgently needed.'
[RESOURCE] Recovery After Rape
We have obtained a copy of the workbook "Recovery After Rape".
As it can be triggering, I won't send it out indiscriminately but if you want a pdf of it for yourself or someone else, just say.
Contact thesidebysidenetwork@gmail.com
[EVENTS] Wednesday workshops for young black men aged 18-25
[RESOURCE] Mental Health and Debt booklet
Click here for the write to your MP template
Mutual Aid, volunteering and helping in the community. - Time to Spare
National Voices' submission to the Health and Social Care Select Committee
[SURVEY] Physical Health in Mental Health patients who have used inpatient services
[RESEARCH SURVEY] Supporting someone experiencing altered states of mind (psychosis)
DIALOG+ and the Recovery Star
Dear Friends,
I was wondering if you have experience of either DIALOG+ or the Recovery Star?
(or other stars – more about those here: History of the star + Recovery star 4)
There was an element of co-production in the Recovery Star for Mental Health, and there has since been an Un-Recovery Star, also from the user-survivor movement which outlines the things that work against our recovery.
These are the questions that the DIALOG tool asks
and these are the areas of the 4th Edition Recovery star.
Note that it used to contain “work” but this has been dropped now.
The Recovery Star covers ten outcome areas:
Managing mental health
Physical health
Living skills
Friends and community
Use of time
Relationships
Addictive behaviour
Home
Identity and self-esteem
Trust and hope
The Recovery Star (4th Edition) is underpinned by a five-stage, ten step Journey of Change model:
Stuck (1-2)
Accepting help (3-4)
Believing and trying (5-6)
Learning (7-8)
Self-reliance (9-10)
I would be interested to hear your opinions and in particular how you think they compare.
Thanks
Bev
Impact assessment of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019
Do you have experience of the Camden Early Intervention Service?
WE are looking for people who have has some experience of the early intervention service - the one based at Greenland Road at the moment.
If this might be you, we would love to hear from you.
Kind regards
Bev
thesidebysidenetwork@gmail.com
[INFO] Boloh - the Black and Asian family Covid-19 Helpline
Are you a black, Asian or minority ethnic child, young person, parent or carer affected by COVID-19?
Free help available
0800 1512605
[RESOURCE] Support After Suicide
DANCE for JOY
Contact davidvital@talktalk.net
[OPPORTUNITY] Research participation - seeking voice hearers
[OPPORTUNITY] Someone with experience of paranoia or psychosis and who has smartphone
Alex Kenny alexkenny@mcpin.org
McPin Involvement Bulletin - Issue 35
Improving employment support for Black people with long-term conditions
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry which uses the format of three lines.
Here are our haikus.
We hope you enjoy reading them.
The Benefits System:
I have no money.
Brown envelope arrives, phew.
Do I deserve it?
Isolation:
On my own, alone.
I am in isolation
Yes and it’s just fine.
Longing:
You slip between my
Fingers; all I can do is
Watch you drift away
Racism:
You pray to their gods
Then, under your burning cross,
You murdered them all
Propaganda:
Feeding me with lies
Why not report some good news?
Keeping me in fear.
A young person on Covid’s inequalities, screen time and a video about lived
DWP Secret Report, Secret Algorithm And Keeping Secrets From WCA Reviewer
Truth About Disability Benefits: Dispatches
It’s OK to not feel OK during challenging times
Codependency- The Unexpected Addicts
Train The Trainer - Applications OPEN
Contact Mike Lawrence - mike@talkforhealth.co.uk
Kingston Hospital’s Health Talks podcast
Quality Priorities for 2022/23 - We would like to hear from you
Contact khft.improvement@nhs.net
NEON project looking for your help?
South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
Sutton Crisis Café - Sutton Mental Health Foundation (smhf.org.uk) – for info regarding the café in Sutton
Constructive & non-clinical alternative to A&E | Sunshine Recovery Cafe | Mental Health Crisis – based in Merton
Mental Health Recovery Cafe | Hestia – based in Wandsworth