Gender differences are clear when it comes to military veterans seeking and accessing mental health support due to stigma around seeking such help, new research has revealed.
Although only a minority of both male and female veterans are accessing support, females appear to have additional barriers to overcome when seeking help, such as negative gender stereotypes and a lack of recognition of their veteran status.
Barriers to accessing mental health services among veterans are well researched in the UK, and examples include a lack of military specialist healthcare professionals and anticipated mental health-related stigma.
However, these studies have included predominantly male participants, meaning the understanding of barriers to access experienced by female veterans is limited.
An app which uses AI to enable stroke survivors to rebuild their speech and language capability at home has been launched, inspired by the personal experience of its creator.
SpeechFirst supports survivors to build on their speech and language therapy provision through using AI to detect incorrect facial movements and pronunciation and provide real-time tips and recommendations to enable them to make progress.
The app is the first British built creation to make use of AI in speech and language therapy, and with its launch is set to increase the rehab potential of thousands of survivors nationally. Its home-based approach enabling people to continue their rehabilitation remotely, while supervised by their therapist who can access the person’s SpeechFirst dashboard.
After a life-changing event such as a stroke or the onset of most neurological, orthopaedic and paediatric conditions, physical rehabilitation is key to people restoring their quality of life.
In the hospital setting, individuals should receive gold standard rehab treatment required to allow them to be discharged. But upon returning home, they are faced with the harsh reality of, largely, learning to look after themselves and the challenges that come with it, along with readjusting to maintain central aspects of their lives before their stroke, such as relationships, finances, careers and other responsibilities.
New MRI techniques to show what is happening in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could have the potential to predict disability from the early stages of their condition, new research has revealed.
Through assessing microscopic changes in the brain at the earliest opportunity using MRI, scientists now believe this has the potential to indicate the level of disability the person may face in the future. The study by University College London (UCL), funded by the MS Society and Rosetrees Trust,combined advanced MRI techniques to show the smallest of changes happening in the MS brain.
Two world-renowned former rugby stars have joined with Alan Shearer in stepping up the fight against dementia in sport.
Shane Williams, the all-time record try scorer for Wales, and World Cup-winning England lock Ben Kay are among 50 former elite rugby players to have backed the prevent PREVENT:RFC project, the latest phase of the Sport United Against Dementia campaign.
Established using best practice in spinal cord injury therapy from around the world, the rehabilitation offered by Neurokinex is helping to redefine the possibilities for people living with paralysis. NR Times learns more about its neuroscience-inspired work
“We want to help change people’s outlook on life.”
Jane Symonds’ summary of the work of Neurokinex, and its approach to redefining possibilities for people living with paralysis, is a powerful one. For aside from the work the rehab provider does with patients physically, using techniques to stimulate the whole body rather than only the functional areas, the impact its neuroscience-inspired approach has mentally is possibly even greater.
A care operator has expanded its brain injury rehabilitation provision through the opening of a new centre, marking an investment of £4million for the business.
Voyage Care has created a flagship centre in Manchester, bringing much-needed further resource to the area with the creation of 24 new beds. Devonshire House is a mile from Manchester city centre, and adds further to Voyage’s portfolio in the area, with other services running in Bury and Burnley. The centre will accommodate a wide range of rehabilitation needs, with eight active rehab beds, eight long-term beds and eight transitional flats.
As a specialist provider of mental health support, caring for some of the most clinically complex patients in the UK’s mental health system, St Andrew’s has a team of experts to provide the bespoke support to enable vulnerable patients to recover. Here, NR Times meets consultant neuropsychiatrist, Dr Vishelle Kamath
Can you summarise your role and career to date? I work as a consultant neuropsychiatrist on the brain injury admissions ward. I have worked both in the NHS and at St Andrew’s within the independent sector. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to have worked both as a clinician and as a manager of clinical services in a clinical director role.
“Our approach isn’t just about covering shifts - it’s about creating the relationships which make our care truly person-centred.”
For Lena Walliman, that statement typifies the approach of Invictus Complex Care. Committed to creating teams which focus on their clients as people, the personal touch the business adopts is proving to be valued by client and staff alike. “The clinical side is more straightforward- for us, it’s absolutely about the person, and when you’re putting a team in place, if you haven’t got the right approach to doing that, then anything else you do makes no difference,” says Lena, clinical director of Invictus.
