Emerging psychosis in young people – new guidance
launched
Guidance to help front line practitioners
achieve earlier diagnosis of psychosis in young people has been
launched by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and
the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The guidance, designed to support practitioners from primary care,
relevant community agencies and specialist mental health services,
was formulated following a report commissioned by the National
Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE). The report
highlighted a growing evidence base that early symptom recognition
can reduce progression to psychosis, and in some cases prevent the
onset of a disabling psychotic illness.
The likelihood of developing psychosis is three in 100, with 80 per
cent of cases starting between the ages of 16-30, and five per cent
aged 15 or less. It is one of the most serious conditions that can
affect a young person – there is a ten per cent lifetime risk of
suicide and 12 per cent of those who suffer from it end up with no
job. However, with early intervention, suicide risk is halved and
over 50 per cent will go on to find employment.
Containing advice for GPs and listing key symptoms which may signal
the onset of psychosis, the guidance aims to create a smoother
pathway between primary care practitioners and mental health
specialists to ensure early detection and provide vital support for
young people with psychosis, and their families.
Dr Huw Lloyd, Chair of the RCGP Mental Health Group, says: “This
guidance sets out a different dynamic between generalists and
specialists in which earlier GP recognition supports different
access routes to a specialist assessment and treatment service – in
this case a youth-orientated specialist assessment and
psychological treatment service.”
Dr Roger Banks, Vice President of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists with a remit for developing the College’s links with
primary care, says: “This vital initiative, firmly and
enthusiastically supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists,
is indicative of a developing and strongly collaborative approach
and the erosion of artificial boundaries between primary and
secondary, or more aptly, generalist and specialist mental health
care.”
The report ‘Early Detection in Psychosis’, and guidance, can be
downloaded from http://www.nimhe.csip.org.uk/~earlydetection
Ends
Media enquiries should be directed to Lorna Fletcher in the RCGP
Press Office 020 7344 3136 / lfletcher@rcgp.org.uk ; or
Deborah Hart, Royal College of Psychiatrists Press Office 020 7235
2351 ext 127 / dhart@rcpsych.ac.uk