WaMH in PC's blog

If you're looking for a comprehensive source of the latest mental health news stories online then you could do worse than visit the Guardian website.

The site hosts an extensive Health section which covers all aspects relating to both the NHS and our own personal health issues.

However, underneath this section there are specific Dementia and Mental Health sections which you can subscribe to alerts via RSS (Dementia RSS and Mental Health RSS) to keep up to date with the latest stories from the section.

On top of this the site also offers free access to insight, advice and best practice via its Healthcare Professionals Network which you can sign up for via the following link - Healthcare Sign Up.

If you spot any news stories or articles on the Guardian or any other website which you think other mental healthcare professionals might find useful or interesting please email any links to our Project Manager Lesley Hills at lhills@rcgp.org.uk.  

Download the National Dementia Vision for Wales document

The National Audit of Dementia found many dementia patients fail to have the proper checks when they are in hospital.

It said too few patients have their mental state assessed, and information is often not shared properly.

However, the study found some improvements since its first analysis of care in England and Wales in 2011.

The audit looked at data from 210 hospitals across England and Wales including case notes for 8,000 patients with dementia.

For further information please read the following news story on the BBC News website Dementia patients miss key tests.

There are currently just over 42,700 people living with dementia in Wales and much work has taken place nationally to identify the areas which need to be addressed in order to improve the lives of those with and affected by this condition.

This has led to the creation of the National Dementia Vision for Wales which provides a long-term vision to ensure our country can best meet the challenge of the increasing number of people living with dementia.

As an organisation we are now focussing on dementia and the mental health issues it raises across Wales with further information available in our Dementia section on this website.

If you have any questions about WaMH in PC's work with dementia in Wales please contact us via email at lhills@rcgp.org.uk or on 029 2050 4516. 

Download Information Sheet - 2 Mental The Impact of Emotional Distress on Health

Sometimes it's difficult to say what's on your mind and talking to a therapist can help you cope with difficulty and make positive changes in your life.

It's Good To Talk is a site aimed at educating people about the benefits of counselling and psychotherapy and is run by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

This useful and extensive online resource helps you to understand what you can expect from the process of therapy and has been designed to help people find out more about counselling and psychotherapy.

It is especially useful for those who are considering therapy as an option for themselves or someone else.

Therapy offers you a safe, confidential place to talk about your life and anything which may be confusing, painful or uncomfortable.

It also allows you to talk with someone who is trained to listen attentively and to help you improve things.

To this end the site has extremely useful What is therapy? and FAQs sections which will answer all your questions about the therapeutic process and even has a Find a Therapist tool full of registered BACP counsellors and psychotherapists if you decide it is something which could help you.

The BACP has more than 33,500 members who work to a set of standards for therapeutic practice with further information available via its helpline on 01455 88 33 00 or via email at bacp@bacp.co.uk.

If you'd like to find out more about counselling services across Wales and how to access these services then please read our Information Sheet 2 entitled The Impact of Emotional Distress on Health which has been produced with the help of the BACP.

Our Information Sheets are part of our aim to improve mental health services and have been developed to provide valuable information, training and support tools on primary care mental health in Wales with all our sheets available to read and download from within our Information Sheets section.