Upcoming Events

VHS and The Open University are hosting two, invitation only, round table meetings to continue the discussions on serious mental health issues later in life.

The issue we are seeking to address is the situation some people with serious mental health conditions (other than or alongside dementia) find themselves in once they become 65. Issues we have been exploring include under-diagnosis, under-provision, poor transitions from ‘adult’ services to ‘older people’ services, discrimination and flouting of human rights. For some people with serious mental health issues, their 65th birthday is like ‘falling off a cliff’ in terms of service provision; for example, their CPN may be removed. A key issue to address is the transition point from adult to older people services, this is where things unravel for some people.

By March last year we had gathered a level of evidence, through round tables held in 2019 and through two surveys conducted by NHS Health Scotland and Dr Adam Daly respectively. The work then paused, unfortunately but of necessity, due to Covid-19.

Firstly, we will look to explore what has changed during the year of covid-19 for older people with serious mental health conditions, and secondly to start to co-produce recommendations for changes in mental health and older people’s policy leading to improvements in services. With the involvement of the Open University we anticipate that further research areas may be developed.

The discussion paper and evidence from the previous phase of the work can be read here.

If you have any questions or would like to register interest in the meetings, please contact Lauren Blair.