Figure is 42% higher than previous estimates and would pose ‘enormous threat’ to healthcare systems
Dementia poses an “enormous threat” to healthcare systems and the general public in England and Wales, experts have warned, as data suggests 1.7 million people will have the condition by 2040.
It is already known to be among the most serious health and social care threats and a new analysis shows the total number affected could be 42% higher than previously estimated.
Continue reading...Complaint filed in California accuses company of knowingly inducing children and teenagers into addictive social media use
The attorneys general of dozens of US states are suing Instagram and its parent company Meta over their impact on young users, accusing them of contributing to a youth mental health crisis through the addictive nature of their social media platforms.
Filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, the lawsuit claims Meta, which also operates Facebook, has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its platforms and knowingly induced young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use.
Continue reading...Exclusive: New figures show on average 10 people in mental health distress die each year during interactions with state police
The stepfather of a man shot and killed by New South Wales police while suffering from psychosis says the current system is “as useless as udders on a bull” as the Guardian reveals officers aren’t allowed to talk with mental health workers during high-risk callouts – even on the phone.
Neil Wilkins, whose stepson Todd McKenzie was shot at his Taree home in 2019, has written to the state’s mental health minister, Rose Jackson, urging Labor to scrap the ban on mental health workers assisting police when weapons are involved.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Premier says an inquiry into use of force against vulnerable people isn’t necessary, despite four fatalities in as many months
The families of vulnerable people fatally shot by New South Wales police have united to call for an independent inquiry into the way officers use force when responding to mental health emergencies.
Their call has been backed by a former coroner and leading lawyers after four fatal police interactions in as many months.
Continue reading...Gavin Newsom vetoes measure, saying state must set up thorough guidelines for treatment before he is willing to sign
California will have to put more work into decriminalizing hallucinogens before Governor Gavin Newsom will sign a bill, said a statement from the governor on Saturday, announcing that the bill had been vetoed.
The rejected law, which was anticipated to take effect in 2025, would have done away with criminal penalties for people possessing natural psychedelics for personal use. It also would have required the state to form a group to study and make recommendations about the drugs’ therapeutic use.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Without action, a ‘generation of young people’ could be addicted to gambling, says independent MP pushing for government to urgently intervene
MPs have called for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the impact of advertising on children and young people by harmful industries after revelations by Guardian Australia of a 16% rise in young people seeking help for gambling in the last financial year.
The call, led by Dr Sophie Scamps, has been supported by the Greens and fellow Independent MPs including Andrew Wilkie, Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel and Kate Chaney. Scamps said without action, advertising targeting children “at this vulnerable stage of life could create a generation of young people addicted to gambling”.
Continue reading...Coroner examining five suicide deaths says tertiary sector faces difficult challenge in encouraging students to get help
International students in crisis are not accessing mental health support services they need, a Victorian coronial inquest into suicide deaths has found.
The inquest examined the deaths of five international students who took their own lives in 2020. The students were born in different nations, attended four institutions in the state and had various living circumstances.
Continue reading...Coalition of experts publish action points including tackling inequality, poor housing and child poverty
Ministers must tackle poverty, poor housing and air pollution to improve England’s worsening mental health, a coalition of charities, thinktanks and staff groups has urged ministers.
Their blueprint for better mental health also includes a crackdown on racism, reforms to the benefits system and action to end the stark inequality whereby people with severe psychiatric conditions die up to 20 years sooner than the general population.
A new Child Poverty Act to banish child poverty by 2030.
The creation of a minimum income guarantee and reforming sick pay.
Action against junk food, smoking, alcohol and gambling.
The end of “hostile environment” immigration policies.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Fears findings will represent only white population if too few people of colour take part
A major study into the effects of cannabis on the human brain is at risk of being partially thwarted because too few black users have agreed to take part.
White people have come forward in large numbers offering to get involved in King’s College London’s £2.5m study of how the drug may contribute to paranoia and psychosis in some users but not others. It is hoped the project will pave the way for wider medicinal use and make illegal recreational use safer.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Force considering alternatives to Pacer program that has seen 48% reduction in people detained by police under Mental Health Act
New South Wales police are looking to replace a program designed to provide “person-centred, trauma-informed care” to people with severe mental health challenges despite the police minister describing it as “so successful”.
Under the Police, Ambulance, Clinical, Early, Response (Pacer) program, mental health clinicians employed by NSW Health are stationed with police to ensure police powers are only used when necessary in responding to mental health crises.
Continue reading...‘It’s not my fight, it is everyone’s fight and everyone has to work together so this doesn’t happen again’, says Judy Deacon
Judy Deacon didn’t shut herself away after her son, Jesse, was shot and killed by New South Wales police two months ago.
Instead, the 79-year-old harnessed her anger. She started lobbying politicians, health professionals and the force itself.
Continue reading...Campaigners criticise ‘tokenistic’ initiative started after polling showed almost all students experience bouts of loneliness
Millions of teenagers across Britain will arrive at university for the first time on Monday as freshers’ week begins.
Almost all will experience bouts of loneliness with nearly half being worried they will be judged if they admit to it, according to a sample of 1,000 students, collected by YouGov for the government.
Spend time helping other people, such as volunteering with student groups or by offering a regular conversation to someone feeling isolated
Keep in touch with friends and family over the phone
Arrange something fun to do with your current friends
Join a club or society at university to connect with others who have similar interests
Do things you enjoy, such as playing sport, reading or listening to music
Be open to everyone, as university is a great place to meet people from all different backgrounds
Remember some people only share the good things happening to them on social media so try and avoid comparison
Talk to someone you trust about how you feel
Get in touch with the university’s student services about the welfare and support it can provide
Remember that others may be feeling similar, so you are not alone
Continue reading...Inquests flag up gaps in the care of prisoners in relation to at least nine deaths in custody since 2021
Prison understaffing and workload issues have been flagged in at least nine inquests into deaths in custody since the start of 2021, according to an Observer analysis of coroners’ reports.
Issues raised include gaps in monitoring of prisoners due to understaffing, a lack of prison-based clinical staff and shortcomings in the keyworker programme. Coroners have also repeatedly identified problems with staff training and the assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Continue reading...Former leadership contender says life of politician puts ‘almost unsustainable’ strain on mental health
The former Conservative minister Rory Stewart has said some fellow MPs came very close to killing themselves when he was in the Commons, and the life of a politician placed an “almost unsustainable” strain on people.
Stewart, who was international development secretary and stood to be Tory leader before leaving the Commons in 2019, said other former colleagues experienced “total breakdowns in public”.
Continue reading...Leader of a secondary school in Essex warns upheaval could have similar negative impact to that caused by Covid lockdowns
A headteacher whose 830 pupils must learn semi-remotely for at least a term because of the schools concrete crisis has warned that the upheaval could cause a recurrence of the negative mental health impact of Covid lockdowns.
James Saunders, the leader of Honywood school in Coggeshall, Essex, fears that year-seven students entering their first term at secondary school could face future struggles after the Department for Education last week ordered the closure of 22 classrooms as part of a nationwide safety alert.
Continue reading...Exclusive: ‘Startling’ rise in number of absences due to psychological disorders revealed
Triggers for mental health breakdown and self-harm in over-stretched police officers are being routinely missed, according to their representative body in Scotland.
The warning comes as the Guardian reveals a “startling” increase in the number of absences due to psychological disorders.
Continue reading...Mark Winfield said that his son Jos was ‘left to rot’ after struggling with his mental health while at Brunel University London
A father whose undergraduate son killed himself after he fell behind with his studies has urged universities to take better care of students who are struggling with mental health issues.
Jos Winfield, an undergraduate at Brunel University London, would have celebrated his 22nd birthday this Saturday, but on Fathers’ day this year his parents found him dead in his bedroom at the family home in Somerset.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Exclusive: Report referenced key findings from trials by Innowell, in which PwC had a 45% shareholding
Consultancy giant PwC promoted the work of a company it part-owned in a report it produced for the federal government about Australia’s digital mental health strategy – while being paid $1m for the “independent” advice.
PwC’s 45% shareholding in Innowell was declared to the government before the contract was awarded but not in the final report which was delivered in November 2022. A disclaimer section states the firm “acted exclusively for the Australian government department of health and considered no one else’s interests”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Funding to Innowell in 2017 without competitive tender was for mental health app and followed months of lobbying by Prof Ian Hickie. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Hickie
The former government led by Malcolm Turnbull awarded a $33m grant to a company that was developing a mental health app after months of lobbying from one of its own mental health commissioners who was also a shareholder in the months-old startup.
The one-off grant was awarded in 2017 without a competitive tender to Innowell for a series of collaborative research trials into a digital mental health platform. Its shareholders include PwC, the University of Sydney and former mental health commissioner Prof Ian Hickie.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: More than half of workers in England and Wales report work is becoming more intense, according to polling
People are facing more intense working days than ever, with less time for their private lives and an increased risk of burnout, according to research by the TUC.
More than half of workers (55%) reported that work has become more intense and demanding, according to polling for the union body.
Continue reading...