This study examined the attitudes and knowledge of patients regarding their depot neuroleptic medication. All patients were attending a community mental health centre in Clydebank, Scotland.

Many patients had limited knowledge of their medication, its benefits and side-effects as well as the rationale for its use. The biggest gaps were found in patients' knowledge of the long-term side-effects of their medication.

Our findings raise doubts as to the capacity of some patients to give informed consent to their treatment. A number of steps are outlined in order to raise patients' standard of knowledge.

A cross-sectional, interview survey of the beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and practice towards mental illness of 29 traditional healers in the Pallisa district of Uganda was carried out.

Many of the healers had experienced emotional problems that had been treated by other healers. Almost all had a family member who was also a traditional healer. They treated a wide range of conditions and all dealt with mental illness. Most believed that mental disorders were caused by supernatural processes. Many recognised the role of environmental agents. Their diagnosis and management of mental illness was eclectic. The healers were either traditional herbalists or spirit diviners or a mixture of both. Almost all referred patients to the district hospitals and were willing to work with government health services.

The results of the survey suggest the presence of fertile ground on which to build cooperation between traditional healers and medical services. Such cooperation may harness primary care resources more effectively. Sequential or simultaneous models of collaboration (or combinations of both) may be considered. Further work on specific treatments, their outcomes and the evaluation of collaborative models is needed.

A postal survey of 81 general practitioners (GPs) who were Involved in lithium monitoring was undertaken, to compare their views on lithium therapy with their monitoring practice, and with the practice of psychiatrists.

Forty-seven replied (response rate 50.6%). There was considerable variation in GP knowledge of lithium therapy. GPs made fewer requests but wanted more information.

Written reminders and information on lithium would be useful to GPs.

To describe the work of the ‘Vron’, a seven-bed active rehabilitation hostel which has operated in Gloucester for the last 15 years. Such units have been acknowledged as a successful alternative to hospital care for patients with severe mental illness, but nationally are grossly under-provided.

Demographic details, admission and discharge data were described for all 103 patients admitted over a 12–year period up to January 1996. Duration of hospital treatment fell from mean 105.8 days one year before and 138.0 days two years before admission to the Vron to: mean 28.6 days one year after and 57.1 days two years after discharge from the Vron. The change was highly significant for both one and two year analyses.

Residential rehabilitation, provided as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation service, was effective at reducing requirement for hospital care. Clinical approaches which contributed to this success were described. The results point to the value of a range of residential hostels, which can through skilled deployment effectively target individual needs for a wide ranging, heterogeneous population.

The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was surveyed over the first six months of 1996 in Wales. Data on the indications for ECT and clinical outcome were collected in the first three months.

The computed annual rate was 22 patients treated with ECT per 100 000 population. Women constituted 71% of those receiving ECT (236/321). Eighty-three per cent had an affective disorder, and 80% had failed to respond to previous treatments. Only 33% of patients had been prescribed more than one class of antidepressant and only 25% had received augmentation with lithium or an alternative drug before being given ECT.

ECT is mostly used after a failure of patients to respond adequately to a course of antidepressants.

This study investigated the effects of gender and nationality on performance in various aspects of the undergraduate final examination in psychiatry. Results in all sections of the final examination were analysed in the case of 140 students from the same year.

There were no statistically significant differences between performances by males and females, however non-nationals performed less well in all aspects of the examination.

Teaching programmes need to identify which aspects of the undergraduate course cause particular difficulty for non-nationals. This information would usefully inform future developments in undergraduate teaching.

Due to a concern over the low level of referrals of children to the child and adolescent psychiatry team, an audit was designed to investigate the possible causes. An audit was undertaken in which the case notes of 100 consecutive adult female admissions to acute wards in Goodmayes Hospital were screened. The case notes were screened for mention of children, any actions taken on their behalf, in addition to a number of demographic and social factors.

The findings of the audit indicate that children of psychiatrically ill mothers do not receive the attention they need, as indicated by the literature on the topic.

More detailed case history-taking by the parent's psychiatrist and closer cooperation between adult and child psychiatry departments are suggested as two methods of addressing this need.

A randomised, blind comparison of a structured consent procedure against routine consent was conducted to determine whether it had any utility in improving treatment knowledge In patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Additionally we aimed to determine whether degree of cognitive impairment intelligence and severity of depression influenced recall of information.

Thirty-two subjects were investigated. Structured consent significantly improved the number of knowledge items recalled pre-ECT (P<0.05). Knowledge scores declined significantly after completion of the treatment course in both structured consent (P<0.05) and control groups (P<0.06). There was a significant correlation between Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and the number of knowledge items recalled both pre- (r=0.43, P<0.05) and post-ECT (r=0.53, P<0.01).

Structured consent procedures may be a useful way of improving patient knowledge of ECT and merit further study. Low scores on MMSE should caution clinicians to take particular care when consenting patients to ECT.

Staff from five community mental health teams (CMHTs) were trained to use structured rating scales for akathisia, tardive dyskinesia and Parkinsonism. Detection rates of these side-effects were compared for the six months before and after the intervention.

Fifty-seven per cent of the target professionals participated, screening 200 (52%) eligible patients. This resulted in significant increases in the recording of all three side-effects as positive but no increase in their formal diagnosis.

Detection rates of these side-effects can be increased to those predicted by research with significant reductions in drug dose and non-adherence and without clinical deterioration.

Demographic and medical characteristics of waiting list patients for National Health Service (NHS) psychotherapy, non-NHS psychotherapy or NHS general adult psychiatry were compared by postal questionnaires.

One hundred and eighty-three subjects replied. High rates of psychiatric morbidity were reported in both psychotherapy populations but general psychiatric referrals were more disturbed, taking more psychotropic medication than non-NHS psychotherapy but not NHS psychotherapy subjects. The biggest referral source to non-NHS psychotherapy was general practitioners.

Non-NHS psychotherapists should be able to recognise severe mental illness and have a basic understanding of psychotropic medication and psychiatric services.

Recruitment of trainees and consultants into psychiatry is a major concern. A questionnaire survey of trainees within the psychiatry of learning disability was conducted to highlight attitudes about training and career issues.

Ninety per cent of trainees decided on a career in learning disability as a result of completing a junior post in this speciality. Forty-three per cent were seeking dual accreditation and nearly half of these were experiencing problems relating to this; 84% expressed fears about becoming a consultant; and 63% felt they needed more advice on how to find a consultant post.

Increased exposure to learning disability at the basic training grade is required to ensure recruitment. In addition issues related to dual accreditation and anxieties about consultant posts need to be addressed.

Staff grade psychiatrists working in Scotland were surveyed by postal questionnaire in order to determine their demographic profile, career aspirations and experience of the grade.

A heterogeneous group of doctors was identified, from a variety of professional backgrounds, and with a range of ambitions. Respondents generally held a favourable view of the grade, but expressed concern over perceived lack of opportunities for training, education and career progression. This is despite considerable recent efforts by the College to include non-consultant career grades in its programme for Continuing Professional Development.

There remains scope for imaginative development of the grade. In particular, staff grade psychiatrists might benefit from a more individualised approach to, and support for, all areas of their professional development. Such ‘mentoring’ may be especially beneficial for staff grades in Scotland, for whom geographical, as well as professional isolation, can be problematic.

A one-in-five random sample (n=104) of practitioners approved under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 in the West Midlands was selected. Opinions were sought on issues relating to current law and potential reform.

Eighty-three (80%) doctors were interviewed. Over half (52%) stated that the term ‘mental illness' in the Act was unsatisfactory. Two-thirds (68%) specified the need for a review of legislation relating to treatment in the community.

There was a diversity of views. This is likely to be reflected in the clinical practice of those interviewed. Many respondents believed that there was a need for reform in specific areas of the Act.

We surveyed the prescription of neuroleptic drugs in patients with a diagnosis of dementia discharged from a general psychiatric hospital over two consecutive years. The surveys looked at documentation of information around prescribing and communication to primary care teams. Our aim was to help to minimise the potential contribution of hospital practice to unnecessary or continuing unreviewed neuroleptic prescription in the community.

The first survey led to the adoption of new clinical standards in the Department of Old Age Psychiatry. The second survey found improvements in all surveyed parameters.

Clear communication of information around prescribing and follow-up arrangements could help to reduce inappropriate community prescription of neuroleptics in this vulnerable group of patients.

To identify and reduce the number of patients receiving depot neuroleptics above the British National Formulary maximum. The medical records were scrutinised and individual consultants were informed of the results.

For the team involved in this audit there was a significant reduction in the prescription of high-dose depot medication, but this did not generalise to other teams.

Different teams should repeat the audit and a new depot card has been developed.

The legal provisions concerning the admission to hospital, holding powers and compulsory treatment of the mentally ill in Germany are illustrated. The essential legal concepts are compared to the situation in Great Britain.

Whereas British law gives key powers to multi-professional decision-making and relatives, German law requests formal court decisions even in routine cases. This reflects a different understanding of individual rights and their protection. German mental health law is motivated by the experiences of the totalitarian national socialist regime. It tries to protect patients' rights by restricting physicians', hospitals' and family members' Influence. British law, on the other hand, assumes that experts as well as family members act benevolently in the patient's Interest, prefers less formal mechanisms and expresses more trust in professional ethics.

Further research is desirable to analyse the situations in other countries and to determine which of these approaches is the most adequate from the point of view of the mentally ill. This is even more important in view of further European integration which will undoubtedly touch these questions and accelerate a convergence in medico-legal issues.

A trust-wide audit of antipsychotic prescription was conducted in order to investigate the prevalence of high-dose treatment in a population with schizophrenia and assess compliance with Royal College of Psychiatrists' guidelines on the use of high doses. Details of antipsychotic medication were recorded and in cases of high-dose treatment compliance with the College's guidelines was assessed.

Sixteen out of 361 patients (4%) were receiving high-dose medication. At re-audit this figure fell to four patients (1%). High-dose treatment comprised of a combined depot and oral medication in most cases. There was poor compliance with the College's guidelines.

The study stresses the importance of monitoring patients on high-dose antipsychotics, particularly when taken in combination.

This report was prepared as the basis for wider consultation within the Old Age Faculty and the College. Some literature and practice is reviewed and practical suggestions made for the future in this area.

Although older patients are less likely to be refused for psychological intervention attitudes are slowly changing.

The clinical implications of this development include a greater consideration of the unique emotional life of each of our patients and an improved understanding of our reluctance to engage in psychotherapeutic work with older people.

A prospective audit of the 425 referrals made to a community child and adolescent mental health service over a three month period was undertaken. Standardised data were collected about the referrer, reason for referral problem chronicity and complexity, service response and first appointment attendance.

The service is currently seeing less than one in five of the children conservatively estimated to require specialist mental health services. The majority of those referred were appropriate, identifying multiple problems of longer than six months' duration presenting within a complex context.

The results have provided commissioning authorities with a clear specification of the current service. This can inform decisions about resource reallocation, prioritisation and future service development. Clinicians feel that the complexity of their work is now understood and various audit projects and initiatives have been established in order to explore alternative ways of responding to referrer demands.