The lack of mental health care for ex-servicemen needs a major overhaul, with many who have been discharged now ending up homeless, alcoholics, addicted to drugs or in prison. A lack of mental health provisions for ex-servicemen who have witnessed traumatic events whilst serving for their country means that many veterans are left to deal read more »

A Government funded study has revealed that the pressure caused by a child can destroy relationships and are considering the option of relationship counselling in a bid to combat the growing problem. Researchers conducted in depth interviews with 112 couples who had been an item for a minimum of three years. In addition to this read more »

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal has revealed that the prevention of diabetes and depression could have a huge impact on reducing dementia cases, as could increasing education and fruit and vegetable consumption. This new development comes after another study has found many dementia patients are missing out on early treatments as read more »

Concerns have been raised over the lack of specialist medics available to care for rape victims, leading to a possible thwarting of conviction rates. According to official figures just 6% of rape complaints to police led to a conviction with a further 6% leading to related convictions. However, of those allegations that do reach court, read more »

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind has joined a group which aims to advise and challenge the independent review which was set up to look into fairness and accuracy of the Work Capacity Assessment (WCA). This process will allow those suffering from a mental health problem to have representation and a voice. read more »

A simple blood test could detect Alzheimer’s 10 years in advance. At the start of this month experts revealed that a very simple and inexpensive blood test could be the key to the early detection of Alzheimer’s and can spot it up to around 10 years before symptoms start to develop. This is a huge read more »

Two recent polls have stated that GP’s are anxious over their increased responsibility to commission services, especially when concerning mental health care, reports the Guardian. As part of the governments NHS shakeup the responsibility of commissioning services and handling budgets will shift from primary care trusts to GP’s. Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health read more »

A controlled study involving 20 post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)sufferers has found that the use of the drug ecstasy can improve the effects of psychotherapy, reports BBC News. The trial saw the participants offered two eight hour psychotherapy sessions scheduled a few weeks apart, with 12 of the group given a dose of ecstasy and read more »

On Monday (12 July) the Government unveiled new proposals to revamp the structure of the NHS. The plans included a number of changes to mental health care and Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind has commented on some of the key changes, below are some of his comments: “Transferring powers for commissioning read more »

Brain patterns could now give a valuable insight into youngsters who run a possible risk of becoming ill, reports the Daily Mail. A team of British scientists from Nottingham University have found specific patterns of brain activity which could be ‘makers’ of those who will go on to develop mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. In read more »