The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 263 No 7072 p808
November 20, 1999 News

Pharmacy input into mental health crisis teams crucial, President says

Pharmacy input into mental health crisis teams is crucial to their effectiveness, the President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (Mrs Christine Glover) has said. As the Government announced the trebling of such teams to over 170 over the next 16 months, Mrs Glover said: "Enhanced standards of pharmaceutical care and medicines management will prove a critical factor in the successful treatment of patients with mental health needs." She added that lack of effective medicine management lay at the heart of many of the difficulties experienced by patients with mental health problems.

President: lack of medicines management is at the heart of many patients' difficulties

"If mental illness is not treated effectively this leads to distress for the patient and their families, as well as disruption in local communities, unnecessary readmissions, unnecessary cost to the National Health Service and, in extreme cases, self harm by patients or harm to other members of the public. Modern health services should utilise the support that pharmacists can give to patients and other health care professionals as part of sustained core service provision," she said.
The Government's plans were announced along with a new Green Paper on the Reform of the Mental Health Act 1983. Details are available on the internet at (www.doh.gov.uk/mentalhealth.htm).