Title: Older people with mental health problems: improving services and support
1Older people with mental health problems
improving services and support
- Helen Owen
- Age Concern Cymru
2What was the Inquiry?
- UK-wide project
- Led by an independent Board, assisted by
Government participants and Advisory Group
members - Two stages
- Concluded August 2007
3Improving services and support for older people
with mental health problems
- Supported by Age Concern
- Views and experiences of older people with mental
health problems - 5 themes
- Ending discrimination
- Preventing problems
- Enabling older people to help themselves and each
other - Improving current services
- Facilitating change
4What are the main issues?
- Demographic change
- Wide range of problems
- Costs of inaction
- Age discrimination in mental health
- Policy is disjointed
- Leadership has been lacking
5Facts and figures
- 1 in 4 older people living in the community have
symptoms of depression mostly undiagnosed - Up to 60 per cent of older people in acute
hospitals experience mental health problems - Women aged 75 and over have the highest suicide
rates of all women in the UK men aged 75 and
over have the second highest rates of all men - People aged 55 74 have highest rate of
alcohol-related deaths in the UK
6What did older people with mental health
problems say?
7Ending discrimination
- The thing is if youve got a broken arm youve
got people wanting to help, let me cook you a
meal. If youve got a broken heart and a broken
head they just dont want to know. -
8Preventing mental health problems
-
- Its not getting ill that worries me its
being able to get out and about, to do the things
that matter to me. -
9Dementia
- 5 of people aged 65 and over have dementia
rising to 20 of people over 80 and 33 of people
aged 95 and over - Nearly two thirds (64) of these are cared for in
the community - More than one third (36) live in care homes
- A third of people who care for an older person
with dementia have depression
10Enabling older people to help themselves and each
other
- Use it or lose it! I work myself to the bone,
and it works for me. Seven years on from being
diagnosed Im still living with dementia, not
dying from it
11Improving current services
- Primary care should play an important role
- Housing support is often overlooked
- Age discrimination in social care and specialist
mental health services is a major problem -
12Improving current services (contd)
- Going to a group and mixing with others who had
similar problems as me was good. And having
someone to talk to I liked my support worker.
But I cant get that now because of my age I
feel alone and isolated. I feel as if theres no
reason to get up. I feel terrible I feel
suicidal. I was going to harm myself recently.
13Improving current services (contd)
- Acute hospital care
- Care homes
-
14Facilitating change
- Key actions
- Workforce development
- Education and training to meet population needs
- Capacity building and support
- Investment
- Strong Leadership
15Recommendations Key areas
- Leadership
- Age discrimination
- Well-being / preventative approaches
- Empowering older people
- Improving current services
- Education and training
- Building the evidence base
- Investment
16National government should
- Establish a task force to drive service
improvement - Ensure that age equality underpins all mental
health policy - Place a duty on public bodies to promote age
equality - Increase investment in services for older
peoples mental health
17The NHS and local government should
- Include older people with mental health problems
in strategies to promote well-being - Support community-based initiatives to reduce
isolation and increase social support - Involve older people with mental health problems
in planning and evaluating services
18Health, social care and housing commissioners
- Develop comprehensive mental health commissioning
strategies for all adults - Set standards for providers to identify mental
and physical health problems - Offer flexible home care both emotional and
practical - Develop information and advice, advocacy and
self-help/peer support groups
19Inspection and regulatory bodies should
- Incorporate age equality principles into all
their work - Prioritise assessment of mental health services
for older people - Develop standards to encourage identification of
mental health needs by providers care homes are
a priority - Require all basic training courses to include
assessment and care of older people with mental
health needs (professional regulators)
20The Voluntary Sector should
- Ensure that suitable mental health services are
available and accessible to older people with
mental health problems - Work with professional bodies, with the media and
with older people to publicise positive stories
of hope and recovery from mental health problems
in later life - Prepare younger adults with mental health
problems for transition in later life
21In conclusions
22Contact details
- Helen Owen
- Age Concern Cymru North Wales Office
- Tel 01286672045
- Email owenh_at_accymrunorth.demon.co.uk
- For copies of the two reports visit
- www.mhilli.org or www.accymru.org.uk