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Showing results for tags 'Depression'.
Found 12 results
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News Article
Lockdown having 'pernicious impact' on LGBT community's mental health
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The coronavirus lockdown has provoked a mental health crisis among the LGBTQ community, with younger people confined with bigoted relatives the most depressed, researchers found. A study of LGBTQ people’s experience during the pandemic, by University College London (UCL) and Sussex University, found 69% of respondents suffered depressive symptoms, rising to about 90% of those who had experienced homophobia or transphobia. Almost 10% of people reported they felt unsafe in their homes. The study called for more government support for LGBTQ charities, which have experienced significant rises in demand since the start of the pandemic. It warned: “Poor LGBTQ+ mental health may remain unchecked without a substantial policy commitment and funding directed to ameliorating health inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 August 2020 -
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News Article
Coronavirus: Survivors 'at risk of PTSD'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People who were seriously ill in hospital with coronavirus need to be urgently screened for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading doctors say. The Covid Trauma Response Working Group, led by University College London and involving experts from south-east England, said those who had been in intensive care were most at risk. The experts said regular check ups should last at least a year. More than 100,000 people have been treated in hospital for the virus. The experts say tens of thousands of these would have been seriously ill enough to be at risk of PTSD. The working group highlighted research which showed 30% of patients who had suffered severe illnesses in infectious disease outbreaks in the past had gone on to develop PTSD, while depression and anxiety problems were also common. Tracy is just one of many people who has been left with psychological scars from her coronavirus experience. She was admitted to Whittington Hospital in north London in March and spent more than three weeks there - one of which was in intensive care. "It was like being in hell. I saw people dying, people with the life being sucked from them. The staff all have masks on and all you saw was eyes - it was so lonely and frightening." Since being discharged in April the 59-year-old has been struggling to sleep because of the thought she will die and she has constantly suffered flashbacks. She is now receiving counselling. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 June 2020 -
News Article
ECT depression therapy should be suspended, study suggests
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to treat depression should be immediately suspended, a study says. ECT involves passing electric currents through a patient's brain to cause seizures or fits. Dr John Read, of the University of East London said there was "no place" for ECT in evidence-based medicine due to risks of brain damage, but the Royal College of Psychiatrists said ECT offers "life-saving treatment" and should continue in severe cases. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) currently recommends the use of ECT for some cases of moderate or severe depression as well as catatonia and mania. However, peer-reviewed research published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry concludes "the high risk of permanent memory loss and the small mortality risk means that its use should be immediately suspended". In response to the study, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said ECT should not be suspended for "some forms of severe mental illness". Dr Rupert McShane, chair of the college's Committee on ECT and Related Treatments, said there was evidence showing "most people who receive ECT see an improvement in their condition". "For many, it can be a life-saving treatment," he said. "As with all treatments for serious medical conditions - from cancer to heart disease - there can be side-effects of differing severity, including memory loss." Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 June 2020 -
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World will face a mental health crisis after coronavirus pandemic, experts warn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The world is likely to face a global crisis in poor mental health after the coronavirus pandemic has passed, experts have warned. Two dozen mental health scientists including neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and public health experts have warned of the long-term impact of the virus on people’s mental health and demanded governments prioritise research to come up with evidence-based treatments. They also called for real-time monitoring of mental health in the UK and across the world in order to gauge the severity of the expected increase in poor mental wellbeing. Their warning, in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, comes as a new Ipsos Mori survey carried out at the end of March revealed people’s mental health was already being affected by the UK lockdown and self-isolation policy. Read full story Source: The Independent, 16 April 2020 -
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We face a pandemic of mental health
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Currently we have a frightening, deadly viral pandemic, but there will another plague, one we are not hearing nearly enough about from our leaders, which will arrive in a wave just behind it, reports Paul Daley in the Guardian. There will be a pandemic of severe depression and anxiety that will sweep over the world as the unemployment rate pushes into previously unseen digits, families who’d prefer to be socially distant are thrust together and young people are denied the certainty and structure of school. We will need to support – medically, financially, emotionally and psychiatrically – those who are going to do it hardest. Psychiatric support services will need to be dramatically bolstered to fight this mental health pandemic Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 March 2020 -
News ArticleThe toxicity of a commonly prescribed beta blocker needs better recognition across the NHS to prevent deaths from overdose, a new report warns today. The Healthcare and Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) report focuses on propranolol, a cardiac drug that is now predominately used to treat migraine and anxiety symptoms. It is highly toxic when taken in large quantities and patients deteriorate quickly, making it difficult to treat. The investigation highlighted that these risks aren’t known widely enough by medical staff across the health service, whether issuing prescriptions to at risk patients, responding to overdose calls or carrying out emergency treatment. Dr Stephen Drage, ICU consultant and HSIB’s Director of Investigations, said: “Propranolol is a powerful and safe drug, benefitting patients across the country. However, what our investigation has highlighted is just how potent it can be in overdose. This safety risk spans every area of healthcare – from the GPs that initially prescribe the drug, to ambulance staff who respond to those urgent calls and the clinicians that administer emergency treatment." The report also emphasises that there is a link between anxiety, depression and migraine, and that more research is needed to understand the interactions between antidepressants and propranolol in overdose. Read full story Source: HSIB, 6 February 2020
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Content ArticleThe evaluation concluded that after receiving integrated IAPT treatment patients with LTCs: reported fewer symptoms of anxiety/depression made less use of primary and secondary healthcare services will save the health system on average an estimated £1,870 per patient over a two-year period (taking into account IAPT treatment costs).
