New guidance on psychosis and schizophrenia
News,
17 February 2015

Psychosis and schizophrenia cover a range of disorders in which a person’s thoughts, mood and behaviour are significantly altered. Each person will have a unique combination of symptoms and experiences. They can include hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal or self-neglect.
Recent figures showed that up until 2009, there were about 17,000 new cases of psychosis and 8,000 new cases of schizophrenia in England each year.
People with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia often die 15-20 years earlier than people without a severe mental illness. There may be several reasons why. For instance, many people with psychosis and schizophrenia will often have other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes, that can be made worse by antipsychotic drugs.
The latest service audit showed an increase in the number of people with schizophrenia receiving physical health checks; however this was still only a third of service users. The quality standard includes a statement to continue to drive improvements, calling for regular health checks to be prioritised. Healthcare professionals should monitor weight, waist and blood pressure measurements with results to be shared with a person’s GP and mental health team.
In 2014, only 7% of people using mental health services were in paid employment. The latest audit of schizophrenia services also found that less than half (48%) of those who wanted to find work felt they got any help job hunting4. The quality standard stresses the need for structured employment programmes to be made available to people with psychosis and schizophrenia who would like to find work.
Other priorities in the quality standard cover the treatment of people with psychosis and schizophrenia, as well as support for their family and carers including:
- Ensuring people who have a first episode of psychosis start treatment in an early intervention in psychosis service within two weeks of being referred.
- Offering cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis to help people with psychosis and schizophrenia cope with their symptoms.
- Providing education and support programmes for carers.
Comments
Write a Comment
Comment Submitted