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Untreated schizophrenia in hostels for the homeless: a cause for concern?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

M. Marshall  and
M. Sharpe
M. Marshall
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
M. Sharpe
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX
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We report two cases from a study of Oxford hostels for the homeless of patients who were suffering from schizophrenia and are not receiving medication. After compulsory admission to hospital and treatment both showed a dramatic improvement in behaviour which was confirmed by a standardised rating scale. We discuss how hostels for the homeless have become both asylums and traps for those who suffer from schizophrenia and conclude that doctors should not under-estimate the potential benefit of anti-psychotic drug therapy even in homeless people with chronic psychosis.

Type
Original articles
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , January 1993 , pp. 16 - 17
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 1993

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