Category Archives: Mental health

Cannabis brain effects study struggles to attract black UK users

Posted on by

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...

NSW police look to replace mental health response program lauded as ‘so successful’

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘He was on the way up’: mother of NSW police shooting victim demands mental health reform

Posted on by

‘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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

UK government launches campaign to tackle loneliness at universities

Posted on by

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...

Staff shortages an issue amid ‘deeply worrying’ prison deaths in England

Posted on by

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...

Some MPs came close to suicide, says ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart

Posted on by

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...

Schools concrete crisis is risk to pupils’ mental health, headteacher warns

Posted on by

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...

Mental health triggers among police being missed, says Scottish officers’ body

Posted on by

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...

Universities must treat students better, says father whose son killed himself

Posted on by

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...

PwC promoted firm it part-owned in ‘independent’ mental health report for Australian government

Posted on by

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”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Turnbull government’s $33m grant went to company part-owned by mental health commissioner after lobbying

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

People at increased risk of burnout due to more demanding workdays, TUC says

Posted on by

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...

Australian decision to allow psychedelic drug prescriptions criticised by mental health experts

Posted on by

Neuropsychologists and psychiatrists argue the evidence for broad-scale implementation of psychedelic drug use is insufficient

The decision by Australia’s drugs regulator to allow authorised psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelic drugs is “questionable, if not concerning”, and likely driven by the influence of lobby groups instead of health experts, mental health researchers say.

As of 1 July, authorised psychiatrists have been able to prescribe medicines containing psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder. The decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration followed public consultation, a report from an expert panel and advice received from a medicines advisory committee.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Calls for restorative justice after ‘dehumanising’ incidents in Victoria’s mental health care system

Posted on by

‘I chewed my way through the restraints in front of two security guards who were laughing at me’, says one woman

When Victoria’s mental health royal commission made landmark findings of systemic human rights breaches in 2021, there was little that surprised Anna*.

At the time of the inquiry’s hearings, Anna had numerous stints in the psychiatric wards of Victorian public hospitals. She said the experiences were “dehumanising” and often chipped away at her will to live.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NHS to deploy street mental health teams to help England’s rough sleepers

Posted on by

Exclusive: £3.2m plan aims to curb rise in people sleeping rough as councils cut homelessness budgets

The NHS will deploy street mental health teams in English locations from Devon to Doncaster in an attempt to curb a rise in rough sleeping in England.

Fourteen outreach teams will aim to get more rough sleepers on to a path to counselling, medication or other treatments and will seek out people “who have often been through incredibly traumatic experiences to ensure they get the help they need”, said Prof Tim Kendall, NHS England’s clinical national director for mental health.

Continue reading...

Ministers accused of neglecting ‘tidal wave’ of child mental ill health in England

Posted on by

Exclusive: Research reveals only a quarter of primaries will have vital school-based support by end of 2024

Ministers have been accused of failing to grasp the “tidal wave” of mental ill health blighting children’s lives, after research found that only a quarter of English primaries will be able to offer vital school-based support by the end of next year.

With almost one in five pupils aged seven to 16 now thought to have a mental health disorder, specialist support teams were set up to work with children in schools, addressing early symptoms and reducing pressure on overstretched NHS services.

Continue reading...

Met plan to stop mental health response will leave thousands ‘without support’

Posted on by

Health groups raise alarm after Sir Mark Rowley says he will order officers not to attend 999 calls about mental health incidents

Thousands of people in a mental health crisis will be “left without support” under worrying and inappropriate police plans to “walk away” from emergency incidents, health chiefs have said.

In a letter seen by the Guardian, the Metropolitan police comissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said that from September he would order the force’s police officers not to attend thousands of 999 calls about mental health incidents.

Continue reading...

Met police to stop attending emergency mental health calls

Posted on by

Exclusive: move will come into force on 31 August and will only be waived if a threat to life is feared

The Metropolitan police will no longer attend emergency calls related to mental health incidents, the force’s commissioner has said.

In a letter seen by the Guardian, Sir Mark Rowley says he will order his officers not to attend thousands of calls they get every year to deal with mental health incidents.

Continue reading...

Only 12 of 35 dementia units promised by 2023 Australia-wide are operational, health department says

Posted on by

Exclusive: spokesperson says six units more will open by the end of 2024 but declines questions about cause of delay

Just 12 of a promised 35 specialist dementia units the government committed to have running by 2023 are operational, a health department spokesman has said.

To respond to a growing number of people with dementia and suffering from severe behavioural and psychological symptoms, the federal government in 2016 announced the Specialist Dementia Care Program [SDCP].

Continue reading...

Queensland changes laws to accommodate UN prisons inspectors

Posted on by

A UN anti-torture subcommittee suspended its inspections last year after being refused access to some facilities

The Queensland government has passed a bill to remove legislative barriers that prohibited UN officials from visiting places of detention during their visit to Australia last year.

A UN anti-torture subcommittee suspended its tour of Australian detention facilities in October after Guardian Australia revealed Queensland refused access to some mental health facilities that hold people charged with crimes, while New South Wales blocked inspectors from entering all of its detention facilities.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...