schizophrenia. Rethink did a survey recently which showed that 50% of
people still weren't getting access to PTs. In a presentation slide by
Graham Thornicroft I found online he quotes a 5% employment or education
rate for people with sz. Other countries in Europe have 25%. It also has
one of the highest mortality risks in Europe and it's about 5 times what
it is in Norway.
That may in part be due to the use of antipsychotics but I'm not so sure
noiw. I know the study that shows they reduce life expectancy in really
old people. This offered the unique opportunity to compare life
expectany when drugs for psychosis were used as a chemcial cosh for
'treating' the elderly in the community. 1,800 people a year death rate
when this happened (the figure's from the Royal College of Psychiatry).
The other factor I found from a review published last year showed that
people with sz get 25% fewer essential heart operations (and all people
with mental health problems get poorer quality physical healthcare).
In the face of all those problems NICE recommended against counselling,
social skills training and supportive psychotherapy when they revised
the clincal guidelines last year. I think they were smoking crack at the
time.
Soteria isn't the only one. Several countries are develoiping
alternatives that offer no or low-dose medication in treatment. I bet my
bottom dollar that this is something many people want. They don't want
to be chucked into a ward and left to rot while the doctors wait for the
medication to work. There's nothing in the UK at the moment at all. The
cuirrent work seems to be service user activist-driven in Bradford.
Nothing on the radar in London though it has a disporportionately high
rate of diagnosis of schizophrenia (AESOP study citied in New Horizons
consultation).
And of course they're still recommending clozapine after the trial of
two other antipsychotics. I have no idea how many people are dying from
this drug. It's lots though. There's about 6000-7000 people a year
prescribed it in the UK and they're dying earlier than they should. When
I was treated by a private psychiatrist who gave me a diagnosis of
schizoaffective disorder: bipolar type (first hospitalised with bipolar
with paranoid features, then schizoaffective, then dual diagnosis, then
mixed affective disorder and now I have no label). He put me on a
mammoth dose of quetapine fulminate - up to 700mg a day. But I vaguely
remember a conversation about trying a drug where I need my blood levels
monitored for the first six motnhs. I had a close shave with clozxapine.
He opted for doiuble the standard dose of quetapine instead. Think he
gave me a few years extra on my life by making that choice. The only
paper I've seen on the NHS evidence ebulletiin related to alternatives
to clozapine was written by someone who's main area of expertise was in
eating disorders...
I went through acute psychosis untreated while I worked at Mind. I
wouldn't accept treatment from the NHS because all they would have done
is drugged and sectioned me. With the CTO they could have forced
medication on me. I had to learn to cope on my own and eventually the
psychosis receded. I had no choice. It's what they've done to me in the
past.
Hacving gone through it I know the NHS mistreats first episode
psychosis. Having learned to deal with it on my own and endure the
shitty life outcomes has shown me it's possible for people to get by in
life without medication or NHS support. But it's not a good life. I
wouldn't wish what's happened to me on my worst enemy.
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