Pubdate: Sun, 08 Oct 2006
Source: Independent on Sunday (UK)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/208
Author: Marie Woolf,  Sophie Goodchild

REVEALED: 50 PER CENT OF ALCOHOLICS AND DRUG ADDICTS ARE MENTALLY ILL

Half of all alcoholics and drug addicts are suffering from mental 
health problems, including depression, and are self-medicating to 
mask the symptoms.

Turning Point, a social care charity, is warning that people are 
failing to get proper treatment because they are not being correctly 
diagnosed. It believes that mental health problems are being 
exacerbated by drug and alcohol misuse.

The problem of "dual diagnosis" is so acute that doctors' surgeries 
and hospitals are to be given official guidance to help them to 
identify people abusing drugs or alcohol who are also mentally ill.

Ministers have commissioned Turning Point to produce a good practice 
guide for doctors and nurses to help them to identify people with the 
symptoms of mental illness.

The move comes amid growing warnings from health-care experts that 
more needs to be done to provide support for the record numbers of 
Britons now suffering from depression and anxiety.

Figures released by the Government show that almost 13 million 
working days are lost every year through people taking time off 
because of stress, depression or other forms of mental illness.

Mental health problems are particularly common among homeless people 
and the prison population. Seventy-nine per cent of men on remand who 
use drugs also suffer from mental health disorders.

Lord Adebowale, the chief executive of Turning Point, said he was 
concerned that the medical services were missing symptoms of mental 
illness among drug and alcohol users.

"I would argue that the majority of drug addicts and alcoholics have 
a mental health problem," he said.

Experts believe that many who are abusing alcohol and drugs are 
unaware they are suffering from a form of mental illness.

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, approximately half 
of those using drug and alcohol services have some form of mental 
health problem, most commonly depression or personality disorder.

It is estimated that about one-third of psychiatric patients with 
severe mental illness have a substance misuse problem.

Tim Loughton, the shadow Health Minister, said: "The correlation 
between mental illness and alcohol abuse is very defined. Those who 
are depressed may self-medicate with alcohol in order to relieve 
their symptoms. Indeed, alcohol dependency is a type of mental 
illness. But mental health treatment is currently the Cinderella of the NHS."

Another concern is the risk of suicide among people with mental 
health problems. Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the charity 
Sane, asked: "Why are we sending people who have attempted suicide 
back to their lonely flats with an outpatient appointment four weeks ahead?"
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MAP posted-by: Elaine