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Health News Blog Archives
Health News Blog posts insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domain of the health facet of life. Health News Blog: Mental-Health News 1 Elderly mental health care 'poor': Sunday, 12 August 2007
Services for older people with mental-health problems are inadequate, an independent panel has warned. More than 3.5 million older people have mental-health problems according to the UK Inquiry into Mental-Health and Well-Being in Later Life. But years of under-funding and age discrimination in mental-health services prevent people obtaining support and treatment, they said. The government said they had set out guidance on improving services. According to the inquiry, up to one in four people over 65 and two in five people over 85 - are suffering depression or serious symptoms of depression and one in five people over 80 suffer dementia. Health News Blog: Mental Health News 1 (Continued) There are also higher rates of suicide in people over the age of 75. Yet older people with mental-health problems are often ignored and receive little support, the Inquiry concluded. It is estimated that two-thirds of older people with depression never even discuss it with their GPs, and of the third that do discuss it, only half are diagnosed and treated. Even when they are diagnosed, older people are less likely to be offered treatment and the inquiry said some GPs believe depression is simply a symptom of growing older. Health News Blog: Mental Health News 1 (Continued) Discrimination In 2006, a review of progress against the government's National Service Framework for Older People found that explicit age discrimination had not declined in mental-health services. And people over the age of 65 often receive different, lower cost and inferior services to younger people - even if they have same condition, the inquiry panel said. Dr June Crown, chair of the inquiry, said mental-health problems in later life were often preventable and treatable. "Action to improve the lives of older people who experience mental-health difficulties is long overdue. "Current services for older people with mental-health problems are inadequate in range, in quantity and in quality. "Our report draws attention to groups of older people who are currently invisible in the UK, who have been denied the fair treatment that should be a hallmark of a civilised society." Health News Blog: Mental Health News 1 (Continued) Better services Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern who supported the inquiry said the years of ignorance, discrimination and underfunding must be overturned. "The inquiry shows the true scale of the problems, but it also gives hope for the future in the shape of practical steps that can help the millions of older people suffering from a mental-health problems." Health Minister Ivan Lewis said: "This report raises fundamental questions for the NHS, care system, families and all communities as we face up to the challenge of an ageing society. "Whether it be depression, chronic illness or dementia we have a duty to act so older people have the best possible quality of life. "I will be taking the findings of this report seriously and working with stakeholders to seek continued improvements in the quality of mental-health services for older people." Chris Ball, chair of the Mental-Health Network's older people sub-group, said: "It is vital that we tackle the issues of discrimination and stigma in mental health at all levels - both in the context of provision and in wider society." Marjorie Wallace, chief Executive of the mental-health charity Sane, said: "The standards of wards for elderly people with mental illness can be shocking, mixing patients with illnesses like depression and conditions like dementia. "We entirely agree that age should not be a barrier to treatment for conditions such as depression and anxiety, which can be as successful with older people as with those in younger age groups." Health News Blog: Mental Health News 2 Mental health system needs serious reform: August 10, 2007 The recent account of a mentally ill son murdering his father in Lehigh County brings to mind a situation all too common. In this case, the family considered the son dangerous and pleaded with a mental health crisis worker to have him hospitalized. This was apparently denied because the patient stated he would not harm himself or others in response to those questions. Now, a father is dead and the son is in prison instead of a hospital. The Virginia Tech student massacre was a similar situation. Although there was ample evidence from peers, family, psychiatrists, and others that the killer was mentally ill and dangerous, a judge released him on the basis of the same simple question: ''Would you harm yourself or someone else?'' The commitment laws have been controversial for decades. On the one hand, mental health experts have regarded them as too restrictive, denying treatment to the mentally ill in urgent need, and failing to provide society and potentially dangerous patients the necessary safeguards. On the other hand, legislators and civil liberty proponents are fearful of involuntary incarceration. I believe they fail to understand that mental illness often robs a person of ordinary reason and judgment. Asking questions about the intent to harm self or others is often meaningless. Information from family, others, and psychiatric examination could be critical but often not adequately taken into account. There is no doubt that the present system needs serious and urgent reform. Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 Children of soldiers aren’t having mental health needs fulfilled: Thu, Aug. 09, 2007 by RAQUEL RUTLEDGE
MILWAUKEE | It’s in a bundle of wet bedsheets on the floor of a 5-year-old boy’s room. It’s in the diaries of dozens of girls at a summer camp. Anyone who spends time around the children of American troops can see it. There is depression, anxiety, anger, defiance, nightmares and other sleeping problems. There are headaches, stomachaches, high blood pressure and more. The military recognizes the importance of families more than ever, but experts both in and outside the military say that not nearly enough is being done to ensure that children of soldiers remain mentally healthy. “Unequivocally and enthusiastically, ‘No,’ ” said Charles Figley, a psychologist at Florida State University who has studied the effects of combat on soldiers and families. “It’s really disgraceful.” Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 (Continued) Two recent and comprehensive studies support Figley’s view. A Defense Department mental health task force commissioned by Congress spent a year reviewing research, gathering public testimony, and visiting 38 military installations throughout the world to assess the mental health needs of troops and their families and the services being offered. The key finding: “The military health system lacks the fiscal resources and the fully trained personnel to fulfill its mission to support psychological health” — not only of soldiers but also their families, during peace and war, according to the report, which was released in June. Children had “particularly constrained” access to mental health treatment, the task force found, adding that “parents frequently reported 2- to 6-month waits for their children’s initial appointment with a psychiatrist.” Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 (Continued) Many military psychologists are deployed overseas, creating larger caseloads for those left stateside. Many, too, are leaving the military, citing the strain of repeated and protracted deployments on family life. The number of mental health professionals in the Air Force, for example, dropped 20 percent from 2003 to 2007. Families referred to civilian care often find that providers will not accept Tricare, the military’s insurance plan, because of its low reimbursements. The task force gave the Defense Department until December to create a plan to improve the situation. Another study, released in draft form in February, noted several civilian and military programs designed specifically for military children but said that “the efforts do not appear to be well coordinated or widely disseminated.” Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 (Continued) Parents serve, children react MILWAUKEE | As countless reports emerge about the lack of proper care for the troops, civilian and military specialists agree that not nearly enough is being done to protect their children. Several factors make the situation especially concerning, experts say: •More than 155,000 U.S. children have at least one parent deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In all, as many as 700,000 have a parent who has been deployed since the start of the wars. •A child whose parent has post-traumatic stress disorder often will mimic the symptoms, experts say. About 25 percent of returning troops have been diagnosed or have symptoms consistent with the disorder. •The rate of child abuse and neglect in military families doubled in the period after widespread deployments to the Middle East, from the time before intensive deployments. •Studies link depression, anxiety and emotional disorders in children to a parent’s deployment. Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 (Continued) At school KILLEEN, Texas | Barbara Critchfield shook as she practiced writing the name on paper. Should it read, “In Memory of?” Or maybe, “In Honor of?” She hated that she had to write the name at all, although she knew she would have to write one someday. She had written names on blue and silver stars. Those were easier. Those were the names of military moms and dads deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several hundred already covered the walls at Shoemaker High School, at the doorstep of Fort Hood, the largest U.S. military installation. Health News Blog: Mental Health News 3 (Continued) But not the gold. The gold carried the names of those killed. To Critchfield, a seasoned counselor at Shoemaker High, those names were like family. She was a surrogate mom or dad. Unlike their peers across the country who could escape the wars with a click of a remote, Critchfield’s students were tethered. The parents of more than 80 percent were fighting in the wars. Critchfield understood clearly what that meant. She had seen a teenage girl crumple and make sorrowful sounds that words can’t describe when told that her dad wouldn’t be coming home. She was there the morning that Rohan Osbourne, 14, came to school and told his teacher that he thought he was going to have a bad day. The teacher jokingly asked: “Why? Did the dog eat your homework?” Rohan explained that he had learned that morning that his mom had been killed over the weekend. “These kids didn’t enlist,” Critchfield said, “but they are sacrificing in ways you cannot even imagine.” Health News Blog Comment: Mental health care does have to take place at the level of the whole system rather than only at the level of the mental problem concerned. That is what holistic health is - the real definition of health! 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