The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Parliamentary Scholar Scheme gives higher trainees in psychiatry the opportunity to spend 1 day a week in the House of Lords working alongside a peer with an interest in health. This article describes the work of the House of Lords and Parliament using examples from the experiences of 2017–2018 scholars and outlines ways doctors can get more involved in policy and politics.

We aimed to explore access by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) elders to the memory services in Leicester and Leicestershire, examining any trends over time. We then compared the odds of referral by ethnicity, using observed versus expected referrals for the city of Leicester. We gathered data on a comprehensive county-wide memory clinic used by people with suspected dementia and memory problems from the Trust electronic record system during the period 2011–2017. For Leicester city, we compared referral rates for 2011–2017 and compared observed and expected referral rates with demographics from the UK Census 2011.

In Leicester, there was a significant underrepresentation of referrals from the BAME population as compared with the White population in 2011, 2012 and 2013, when compared with population estimates of those aged ≥60 years from the 2011 UK Census Leicester city data. Data for the Black population were too small for comparisons. The odds of being referred to a memory clinic for the White group was double that of the Asian group in 2011 (odds ratio 2.15, 95% CI 1.52–3.02) and nearly 1.5 times in 2012 (odds ratio 1.40, 95% CI 1.01–1.93). This difference did not persist after 2014. However, this differential odds of referral changes when the age difference between the groups is accounted for. After adjusting for age, there were no differences between the two groups in their odds of referral to the memory clinic from 2011 to 2013, but from 2014 to 2017, members of the Asian group had higher odds of being referred.

The relationship between BAME and access to memory services is complex. The relative lower prevalence of Asian people among referrals to memory services in Leicester from 2011 to 2013 may partly be explained by the lower ages of the Asian population at referral. The higher prevalence of Asian people in 2014–2017 may be owing to use of denominators from the 2011 UK Census, which are likely to be disproportionately low for this group. Further studies are needed to explore any potential barriers to the access of services by BAME communities.

To apply process mapping, a component of lean management, to a liaison psychiatry service of an emergency department. Lean management is a strategy that has been adapted to healthcare from business and production industries and aims to improve efficiency of a process. The process consisted of four stages: individual interviews with stakeholders, generation of process maps, allocation of goals and assessment of outcomes.

There was a significant reduction in length of stay of psychiatric patients in the emergency department (median difference: 1 h; P = 0.015). Five of the six goals were met successfully.

This article demonstrates a management intervention that successfully reduced length of stay in an emergency department. Further to the improvements in tangible (quantitative) outcomes, process mapping improved interpersonal relations between different disciplines. This paper may be used to guide similar quality improvement exercises in other areas of healthcare.

Medication with anticholinergic action is associated with potentially serious adverse effects in older people. We present an evaluation of a novel anticholinergic burden scale introduced into routine practice in older adult services in the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust. Our aim was to assess whether this tool improved the accurate identification of anticholinergic medication and guided safer prescribing in cognitively vulnerable older people.

The introduction of the anticholinergic effect on cognition (AEC) tool into clinical practice led to an increase in the identification and reporting to general practitioners of anticholinergic medication from 11 to 85% of cases (P = 0.0015).

Application of the AEC tool led to improved detection of anticholinergic medication and advice to primary care on when a medication review is necessary. This is an important step towards improving the safety of prescribing in this patient group.

A series of eleven patients prescribed intramuscular clozapine at five UK sites is presented. Using routinely collected clinical data, we describe the use, efficacy and safety of this treatment modality.

We administered 188 doses of intramuscular clozapine to eight patients. The remaining three patients accepted oral medication. With the exception of minor injection site pain and nodules, side-effects were as expected with oral clozapine, and there were no serious untoward events. Nine patients were successfully established on oral clozapine with significant improvement in their clinical presentations.

Although a novel formulation in the UK, we have shown that intramuscular clozapine can be used safely and effectively when the oral route is initially refused.

To compare and contrast the burden of comorbidity in a population receiving in-patient treatment for substance misuse with that of a cohort admitted to the same unit 4 years previously. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was used to quantify patients' comorbidity and predict 10-year survival.

There was a marked reduction in predicted 10-year survival: in 2014, 22% of patients had a predicted 98% chance of 10-year survival, whereas only 2% in the 2018 cohort had a predicted 98% chance. Additionally, in 2014 only 9% of patients had a <20% 10-year predicted survival chance, whereas 28% in 2018 had a predicted 10-year survival chance of <20%. In this time, funding for services was cut by 23% and the 12-bed unit was reduced to 8 beds. This resulted in an increase in the average waiting time from 30 to 65 days. In 2018, more patients were admitted for alcohol detoxification, rising from 79% to 93% of admissions. Chronic respiratory disease remains the most prominent comorbidity; however, there is also an increase in the percentage of patients with liver disease.

In-patient substance misuse units are known to serve individuals with complex illnesses. With service funding cuts, subsequent bed reductions and increased waiting times, this complexity is increasing, with a considerably higher burden of comorbidity. The consequential increased mortality risk highlights the ongoing need for adequate community and in-patient services with integrated care of mental and physical health alongside social work.

To characterise police involvement with those detained under place of safety legislation and determine factors associated with admission to hospital. Place of safety referrals over a 1-year period were identified retrospectively and evaluated.

Place of safety legislation is generally used with regard to concerns about suicide. Individuals are often removed from high-risk areas and referrals to police are frequently initiated by individuals themselves. A diagnosis of mental illness or personality disorder predicted hospital admission. Presence of senior nursing staff at assessment, but not the seniority of the doctor, was associated with discharge.

Closer multiagency working is required as police are currently being recruited to fill a void between mental health services and the population they serve. Junior doctors require more senior support in making complex, and often risky, emergency management decisions with this population.

Each of the components of the biopsychosocial model of mental illness is important for understanding mental illness. Biological and genetic abnormalities have been demonstrated in major mental illnesses. These are leading to changes in our understanding of these conditions, as well as our understanding of the link between life events and mental illness.

In three localities in a mental health trust in England, an enhanced bed management team was established to improve patient flow and reduce out-of-area placements. Trusted assessments were provided to support risk management and conflict resolution. Two measures of flow were compared before and after the team was established.

The trusted assessment recommendation was for discharge in 70% of cases. The number of out-of-area placements was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), saving £616 876 over a 12-month period. Patient flow was significantly improved in one of the three localities as measured by patients/bed/6-month period (P < 0.05). In one of the other localities increased use of trusted assessment input and reduced numbers of patients being transferred in are recommended to improve flow.

Mental health trusts should consider the establishment of an enhanced bed management team, including trusted assessment, as a safe and cost-effective approach to improving patient flow and reducing the need for out-of-area placement.

To explore the experiences of emergency workers dealing with incidents in which section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is invoked by the police. Data from interviews with police officers and ambulance workers in a London locality were subject to interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Participants felt they were the first port of call and that training should be improved to help them deal with those experiencing mental health crises in the community. Police participants noted time pressures trying to gain individuals’ trust and described section 136 detention as sometimes feeling like a betrayal of the individual. Most participants had negative experiences of admissions to the 136 suite; several suggested ways of improving the admissions system. Several went beyond their expected duties to ensure that distressed individuals were supported before accessing mental healthcare services.

Improving training of emergency workers in dealing with mental health crises would also help with aftercare decision-making. Learning identified from the participants’ experiences lends support to collaboration between emergency and mental health services, an important step towards improving the section 136 process so that detainees can access help without unnecessary delay.

To review the literature on the emotional and mental health needs of young carers of parents with mental illness and the extent to which such needs are recognised and supported by professionals. Three databases were systematically searched from 2008 to 2018, and five studies met the inclusion criteria.

The key findings were that young caregivers had a significantly higher dose-response mortality risk than their peers; were at increased risk of mental health difficulties, especially where the ill family member was a parent and had mental illness or misused substances; were overlooked by professionals owing to a lack of awareness; but could derive benefits from their caring role when appropriately supported.

Young carers are at increased risk regarding emotional and mental health needs; this risk could be mitigated by professionals recognising the young carer's role and including them in their parent's treatment plan.