Provision of decentralised mental health services - an option appraisal

This paper consists of the report of an option appraisal. It is exactly in the form in which it was presented to the Management Team and the Authority in the DIstrict to which it relates. The only changes are that ficticious names have been substituted for the originals to maintain anonymity. The purpose in publishing the report is to provide an example of how an appraisal may be conducted and presented. The appraisal is not claimed to be a "model" one in the sense that others should slavishly follow it or in the sense that it is perfect. However, we do believe it was adequate for its purpose - aiding a decision on a fairly complex service development and that others may find it useful to follow its spirit. At present, services for the mentally ill in the north Midshire area are centralised to a considerable degree in a large institution, High Ridge hospital. This centralisation is consistent with the aims of the Joint Strategy for Mental Illness services in Midshire agreed bwteen Midshire Health Authority and Midshire County Council, and with the objectives of the Midshire Health Authority's Strategic Plan. The thrust of the Strategic Plan is towards better integration of patients with the community, and increased liaison between clinical specialties. The Plan envisages the development of decentralised acute services in the Almhurst sector as forming an early part of the strategy and acting as a pilot scheme for the north Midshire mental health unit. This paper identifies the options available to carry this strategy forward; the criteria by which they should be judged; and makes an appraisal of the alternative. A project team was set up to carry out the option appraisal, consisting of two planners, a nursing officer, a local authority representative, the unit administrator directly affected, two consultant psychiatrists, works and finance officers and two consultant economists.mental health

Evaluating school-based health services to inform future practice: lessons from 'Teen Talk' at Kidbrooke School in Greenwich

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the process and lessons learned from an evaluation of "Teen Talk", a health drop in service at Kidbrooke, a state secondary school in Greenwich. Design/methodology/approach - A multi-pronged approach was adopted for the evaluation. This included a questionnaire survey of a sample of 180 pupils within the school; in-depth discussions with 12 young people who had used the service; interviews with health and education professionals and parents; desk research including an analysis of costs and discussions with senior staff in other schools in Greenwich to determine the feasibility of replicating the "Teen Talk" model elsewhere in the borough. Findings - "Teen Talk" is greatly valued by pupils and staff at the Kidbrooke and was seen to provide a unique service. The overall perception is that it provides good value for money. However, the evaluation identified important lessons in setting up and managing the project which can help refine the service and which have relevance for local and national contexts. Research limitations/implications - This paper illustrates the advantages of embedding evaluation research in health service design and implementation, particularly when there is the potential of replicating service delivery models in other school settings. Originality/value - Creating safe and confidential spaces for young people to access help and advice on a range of health issues is by now well recognized as good practice. School-based health facilities are a relatively new approach to young people's health promotion. Although the benefits of this type of provision are largely undisputed, to date, few such services have been evaluated. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Children's centres Exploring the costs and delivery of a national scheme

Includes bibliographical referencesAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:3863. 45765(1) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo