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Herbal Medicine By Doh

Update

The C.A.L.M. helpline concept, already running successfully in Manchester has been has been extended to merseyside and Cumbria.

The north west region has one of the highest levels of suicide among young men in the country C.A.L.M.

(Campaign against living miserably) is aimed at tackling this.

C.A.L.M. provides free, confidential access to trained counsellors who can provide help, support, and advice about local services. The Manchester helpline has taken nearly 15,000 calls Office of National Statistics figures for 1998 show 612 suicides in the area with 110 in Merseyside and 56 in Cumbria. The north west figure of 612 is followed by 573 in the south east, 525 in London, 392 in Yorkshire and Humberside and 377 in the West Midlands. Suicide is the second most common cause of deaths in men aged 15-24 after road accidents.

Speaking about the new launches, health minister John Hutton said: "It is a tragedy that so many young men reach the point where they feel suicide is the only route left, sometimes simply because they did not feel they could talk to anyone about their problems. The Campaign Against Living Miserably (C.A.L.M) helpline was created specifically for these young men. "025,000 is being invested to extend the helpline's coverage to these areas. This will mean it is accessible to 200,000 young men overall, tripling the current number we can reach.

Race treatment bias

Those with no English are receiving forcible treatment n mental hospitals, according to checks made by the mental health act commissioners.

Most of the units had no policy on dealing with racial harassment. Black and ethnic minorities are over represented among those detained compulsorily.

The Commission has been calling repeatedly for for interpreting services for detained patients. The commissioners cairoed out their inspection on a day in May last year and examined the records of 534 black and ethnic minority representatives.

Computer virus

A study in the US claims a clear link bertween overuse of computers and mood swings and depression. Dr Donald Black of the University of Iowa looked at group of people who spent on average 27 hours a week on terminals.

Just over half were affected by mood swings and "anti-social disorders" but only 12 per cent in control group of non-computer users. The results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Holistic health care

The Matthew trust is holding a follow-up conference to the event "holistic care for the mentally disordered in a secure environment" which took place in 1998. Some of the recommendations emerging from the conference have already been implemented at establishments such as Broadmoor. It will be jointly hosted by the Trust and the Earl of Longford.

St John's Wort

The department of health has issued explicit guidance on the danger of the herbal remedy St John's Wort

preventing some prescribed medicines working properly.

These include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as citalopram, fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, paroxetiner and sertraline, all prescribed for depression.

The DoH has accepted advice from the Committee on the Safety of Medicines that those taking the above medicines should stop taking St John's Wort.

Professor Alasdair Breckenridge, Chair of the CSM said: "New evidence, including studies published in international medical journals, show that St John's Wort may stop some medicines working effectively. "We are advising that anyone who is taking prescribed medicines should seek the advice of their doctor or pharmacist before taking St John's Wort. "If you are taking the oral contraceptive pill or medicines for depression or migraine, you can safely stop St John's Wort. "It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist about any herbal remedy or over the counter medicine you may be taking." On the CSM's advice, the Medicines Control Agency will be taking action to protect and inform the public, as well as sending detailed advice to all pharmacists and doctors.

The MCA is holding prompt discussions with herbal practitioner organisations and trade associations on the information which should be made available with unlicensed herbal remedies containing St John's Wort, including labelling changes. The MCA will also be updating the patient information of all the licensed medicines most likely to interact with St John's Wort.

Mental Health Action

Mental Health Action Week 2000, organised by the Mental Health Foundation, will take place from Saturday 22 April to Saturday 29 April.

During the week the Mental Health Foundation will launch the results of a major research project lifting the lid on the stigma and discrimination experienced by many people with mental health problems. In addition, local groups across the UK will be working to improve mental health services, with street collections, fundraising events, exhibitions and awareness-raising events.

Mental Health Action Week is now an annual event which first started in the 1950s.

Home affairs report MPs have given qualified approval to government proposals for detaining those who have not committed any offence.

The House of Commons select committee on home affairs is, however, sitting painfully on the fence. Such powers should only be used where it is "almost certain" that an individual would offend. But the committee's report, published last month, acknowledges that it would prove "exceptionally difficult to establish that sufficient risk existed to justify such action."

The report considers the proposals produced jointly by the Home Office and the Department of Health in the consultation paper, Managing Dangerous People with Severe Personality Disorder: Proposals for Policy Development, published in July 1999.

During its inquiry the Committee held oral evidence sessions with Liberty; Justice; the National Schizophrenia Fellowship; Mind; the Royal College of Psychiatrists; the Royal College of Nursing, and Rt. Hon. Paul Boateng MP, Minister of State, Home Office.

Government proposals to detain those with severe personality disorder arose following the conviction of Michael Stone for the murder of Lyn and Megan Russell.

Members of the committee have called for an annual parliamentary review of any powers of detention saying that individual cases should be subject to independent judicial review on a regular basis. They have also warned of "substantial costs".

Last November, Home Office minister Paul Boateng, giving evidence to the committee, said there were currently a number of people who would not have been released from custody, had the proposed detention powers been in place.

"I myself was recently in the special unit in Durham and talked to officers there," he told MPs.

"They were able to identify to me one man shortly to be released who they were absolutely convinced would offend again; was highly dangerous; who had been in prison for a long time; whose condition remained as it was and who presented a risk to the public. Under our proposals such a person would not be released, having been through the various assessment and diagnostic procedures which we envisage."

During its hearings, committee members visited Utrecht to study the Dutch TBS system for people with severe personality disorder. The Netherlands is planning to create between 25 and 50 units for those with personality disorders thought to be threatening. These would be separate from hospital and prison systems.

Brian Rogers, professional officer for CPNA, said there were obviously very real issues about a small number of people who cause a disproportionate amount of difficulty

"They do not fit neatly into the criminal justice system or the health based system.

"Personality disorder is not a welldefined term and two psychiatrists could argue the opposite of each other depending on their clinical interpretation.

"If you withdraw someone's liberty because they might do something, can you do the same to an alcoholic who might drive a car even if they haven't done so?

"There are some very dangerous precedents and no one in the world has any system like this."

Mental health campaigners gave a varied response to the report:

The National Schizophrenia Fellowship warned about the cost of the new system but Marjorie Wallace of Sane said: "Only by providing special laws and services and no longer turning people away on the grounds that they are untreatable will we combat the stigma for those with mental illness who are never violent."

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Apr 2000
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