Provision of neuropsychiatry services: variability and unmet need [Special articles]
This study provides further evidence of an ongoing lack of adequate neuropsychiatric service provision. Reasons for variability and unmet need are discussed. Adoption of a previously proposed hub-and-spoke model of service provision and the removal of commissioning barriers through uniform national commissioning may help deal with this problem. (Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Agrawal, N., Bhattacharya, R., Rickards, H. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
Commissioning neuropsychiatry services: barriers and lessons [Special articles]
Aims and method
Previous studies have shown variations in commissioning of neuropsychiatry services and this makes access to neuropsychiatric services a post-code lottery. In this survey, we approached all mental health and neuropsychiatric service commissioners within London to map current funding and commissioning arrangements, and explored perceived barriers to neuropsychiatric service commissioning.
Results
83% of commissioners within London responded. There was significant variability between neuropsychiatric services commissioned through the mental health stream. Contracting arrangements were variable. Lack of earmar...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Bhattacharya, R., Rickards, H., Agrawal, N. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
Mobile telephone apps in mental health practice: uses, opportunities and challenges [Special articles]
Smartphones are used by patients and clinicians alike. Vast numbers of software applications (apps) run on smartphones and carry out useful functions. Clinician- and patient-oriented mental health apps have been developed. In this article, we provide an overview of apps that are relevant for mental health. We look at clinician-oriented apps that support assessment, diagnosis and treatment as well as patient-oriented apps that support education and self-management. We conclude by looking at the challenges that apps pose with a discussion of possible solutions. (Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Marley, J., Farooq, S. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
YouTube and 'psychiatry' [Special articles]
YouTube is a video-sharing website that is increasingly used to share and disseminate health-related information, particularly among younger people. There are reports that social media sites, such as YouTube, are being used to communicate an anti-psychiatry message but this has never been confirmed in any published analysis of YouTube clip content. This descriptive study revealed that the representation of ‘psychiatry’ during summer 2012 was predominantly negative. A subsequent smaller re-analysis suggests that the negative portrayal of ‘psychiatry’ on YouTube is a stable phenomenon. The significanc...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gordon, R., Miller, J., Collins, N. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
The changing face(book) of psychiatry: can we justify 'following' patients' social media activity? [Special articles]
Individuals with mental health issues may post information on social networking sites that can provide an insight into their mental health status. It could be argued that doctors (and specifically psychiatrists) should understand the way in which social media is used by their patients to gain a better insight into their illnesses. However, choosing to actively monitor a patient's social media activity raises important questions about the way in which medical students, qualified clinicians and other healthcare professionals obtain information about patients. While this may be framed as a mere form of ‘collateral histo...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cox-George, C. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
Should psychiatrists 'Google' their patients? [Special articles]
Since its beginnings in the 1980s the internet has come to shape our everyday lives, but doctors still seem rather afraid of it. This anxiety may be explained by the fact that researchers and regulatory bodies focus less on the way that the internet can be used to enhance clinical work and more on the potential and perceived risks that this technology poses in terms of boundary violations and accidental breaches of confidentiality. Some aspects of the internet's impact on medicine have been better researched than others, for example, whether email communication, social media and teleconferencing psychotherapy could be used...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Ashby, G. A., O'Brien, A., Bowman, D., Hooper, C., Stevens, T., Lousada, E. Tags: Special articles Source Type: research
Mental health problems associated with female genital mutilation [Original papers]
Aims and method
To study the mental health status of 66 genitally mutilated immigrant women originating from Africa (i.e. Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Sierra Leone). Scores on standardised questionnaires (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-30, Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, COPE-Easy, Lowlands Acculturation Scale) and demographic and psychosocial correlates were analysed.
Results
A third of the respondents reported scores above the cut-off for affective or anxiety disorders; scores indicative for post-traumatic stress disorder were presented by 17.5% of women. Type of circumcision (infibulation), recollection of the event (a vivid...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Knipscheer, J., Vloeberghs, E., van der Kwaak, A., van den Muijsenbergh, M. Tags: Original papers Source Type: research
Newspaper reporting of homicide-suicide and mental illness [Original papers]
Aims and method
To explore the portrayal of homicide-suicide in newspaper articles, particularly how mental illness was reported. We carried out a qualitative study in England and Wales (2006-2008). Data from newspaper articles obtained via the LexisNexis database were used to examine a consecutive series of 60 cases.
Results
A fascination with extreme violence, vulnerable victims and having someone to blame made homicide-suicides newsworthy. Some offenders were portrayed in a stereotypical manner and pejorative language was used to describe mental illness. The findings showed evidence of inaccurate and speculative referen...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Flynn, S., Gask, L., Shaw, J. Tags: Original papers Source Type: research
Are psychiatrists only fools and horses to be open all hours? [Editorials]
The UK government's proposal for 24-hour healthcare means effectively asking doctors to work more unsociable hours for relatively little financial gain. In our opinion, psychiatry is particularly vulnerable to deterioration owing to negotiations of the terms of the current Consultant Contract that ensures fewer antisocial hours, whereas without parallel appropriate internal team and intra-agency working, provisions for which are not included in the government's proposals to extend care, patient care is vulnerable. Clarification and a narrower redefinition of what constitutes a psychiatric emergency is called for. (Source: ...
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - December 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Wannan, G., Wise, M. E. J. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Fully inform the Martian [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Braithwaite, R. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
Can psychiatry and neurology 'simply' merge? [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Pies, R. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
A more practicel solution is needed [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Dudleston, K. E. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
Psychiatry is more than neuropsychiatry [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Datta, V. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
The Royal College of Psychiatrists' response [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Burn, W., Bowie, P. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
Raising the standard: it's time to review the MRCPsych examinations [Correspondence]
(Source: Psychiatric Bulletin)
Source: Psychiatric Bulletin - October 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Shields, G. S. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
