Dietary intake of people with dementia on acute hospital wards.

The aim of this service evaluation was to understand the factors affecting meal provision on a dementia ward and assess whether meals-based dietary intake met estimated mean energy requirement and reference nutrient intake (RNI). A mixed-methods approach was adopted: 1. Mapping the dietary intake for a cohort ( n =6) of inpatients with advanced dementia over a period of four consecutive days.

A bespoke smoking cessation service compared with treatment as usual for people with severe mental ill health: the SCIMITAR+ RCT.

Background: There is a high prevalence of smoking among people with severe mental ill health (SMI). Helping people with SMI to quit smoking could improve their health and longevity, and reduce health inequalities. However, those with SMI are less likely to access and engage with routine smoking cessation services than the general population.

Smoking cessation for people with severe mental illness (SCIMITAR+): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: People with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia are three times more likely to smoke than the wider population, contributing to widening health inequalities. Smoking remains the largest modifiable risk factor for this health inequality, but people with severe mental illness have not historically engaged with smoking cessation services. We aimed to test the effectiveness of a combined behavioural and pharmacological smoking cessation intervention targeted specifically at people with severe mental illness.

Peer support to assist in transition to adult services.

A peer support worker employment initiative was developed to help young service users with the transition from child and adolescent to adult mental health services, an area that needs improving nationally. This article describes how the initiative was set up and its effectiveness.

Rapid access for older people to an specialist mental health services.

This article outlines an initiative to provide rapid access to specialist services for older people with mental health difficulties living in care homes. It outlines the main aims of the service and its impact. The service has significantly reduced unnecessary hospital admissions.