Big Worries for Mental Illness Medication

Lisa Franchi December 05, 2012

Just this year, several reports were written about the declining quality of mental health care in Britain. They include the growing number of people not receiving treatment for their mental disorders, the ‘appalling’ services in NHS hospitals, and the budget cut which made mental health services even less accessible. But the challenge does not end there. In the latest report by the British Journal of Psychiatry, it was found that a lot of mentally ill people miss out on the essential care they should get for their physical illnesses.

Physical health often overlooked

Researchers from the University of Leicester reviewed several studies involving over two million people. They found that patients with severe mental illness were less likely to get medication for their physical health concerns.

For instance, those with schizophrenia received lower than expected prescriptions for high blood pressure, including beta-blockers, statins and ACE inhibitors. Meanwhile, people with affective disorders such as bipolar disorder, were less likely to get drugs to control their cholesterol levels.

In total, lack of medications affects 10% of people with severe mental illness.

In the past reports, Dr Alex J Mitchell, the study lead author, an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Leicester and a consultant at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, has shown that mentally ill people receive less general and medical care. Their current study suggests another barrier to mental health care – less attention to medical disorders faced by the patients.

Clinicians not taking it seriously

There are several possible reasons for this, says Dr Mitchell. He argues that many health professionals may not feel confident in prescribing medications for physical disorders because they worry about the potential outcome once the medications for mental health interact with that of physical illness.

Still, this does not rule out the possibility that medical conditions are being under-treated when they co-exist with mental illness, he added.

According to Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the charity Rethink Mental Illness, many patients report that they are not being taken seriously by their doctors when they report about their physical health issues.

“It is a scandal that this group of people die on average 20 years younger than the general population, mostly due to preventable physical conditions” says Jenkins.

Dr Mitchell suggests that the treatment for physical illness should be prioritised and closely monitored in mentally ill patients. Clinicians must make sure that both the mental and physical welfare of their patients are given due attention, and patients do not receive inferior health care.

Will Complementary Therapies Help?

There is growing evidence that complementary therapies have a crucial role in uplifting the quality of mental health care. Many clinicians both in hospitals and community centres are providing complementary support to patients, from pain management to recovery.

Dear Readers,

Do you think complementary therapies can provide aid in the growing issues of mental health care, particularly in helping patients cope with their problems on physical health? How?

Share your comments below!

Source of this article:

Mental health medication concern