IMPROVING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

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The lives of people with schizophrenia across the country are being improved thanks to a drug review project carried out by the South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust.

Three years ago Dr Adrienne Crockett and her team from the Priestley Unit, Dewsbury, decided to look at medication for people with schizophrenia. Many of the ‘old’ schizophrenia drugs had unpleasant side effects including heart, liver and thyroid disorders, weight gain and diabetes.

After securing some funding the team began reviewing the treatment of 180 patients from the Priestley Unit, Dewsbury. As a result of the project almost half of the patients have been moved on to newer drugs with less side effects. ‘The project has dramatically benefited patients and improved their quality of life. Those who had problems with the old treatments are much better on the new drugs,’ says Doctor Crockett.

‘We made sure patients knew exactly what was going on and were given a choice. Many of them felt they didn’t receive enough information about their treatments so we made sure they got all the info they needed. We regularly checked the physical health of the patients throughout the project so we could monitor any side effects of the medication. We found this so beneficial that we will continue to make sure we’re not missing any physical problems patients may have in the future,’ she continues.

‘We made sure patients knew exactly what was going on and were given a choice. Many of them felt they didn’t receive enough information about their treatments so we made sure they got all the info they needed. We regularly checked the physical health of the patients throughout the project so we could monitor any side effects of the medication. We found this so beneficial that we will continue to make sure we’re not missing any physical problems patients may have in the future,’ she continues.

The project plan used in the Priestley Unit is now being used throughout the country to review similar clinics. ‘We could have done this study and told no one and it would only have benefited 180 people. We have networked and shared the findings so that it’ll benefit patients across the Trust and also help to improve things for patients across the country.’

Dr Crockett has just returned from Belgium where she presented the project’s findings at a conference. The project results will be published soon.

IMPROVING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

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