To compare how newspapers cover psychiatric and physical illness. We conducted a survey of relevant headlines in nine daily newspapers over a one-month period and judged whether the content was essentially positive, neutral or negative.

Over the one-month period, 213 article headlines about various aspects of medicine and 47 on psychiatry were identified. Ninety-nine (46%) of the former were critical intone as compared with 30 (64%) of the latter (odds ratio=4.42, 95% CI 1.64–11.94).We gained the impression that negative articles about physical medicine tended to criticise doctors whereas negative articles about psychiatry tended to criticise patients. Tabloid and broadsheet newspapers did not differ in their rates of negative coverage.

Psychiatry, psychiatrists and particularly psychiatric patients tend to be represented negatively in the newspapers. Psychiatrists should strive to influence the news agenda by proactively reporting positive messages, such as treatment advances.

To explore service users' experiences of receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the stigma associated with the diagnostic label. Seven participants were interviewed about their perceptions of these experiences. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Five superordinate themes resulted from the analysis: (1) avoidance of the diagnosis of schizophrenia; (2) stigma and diagnostic labels; (3) lack of understanding of schizophrenia; (4) managing stigma to maintain normality; (5) being ‘schizophrenic’. These, together with their subthemes, highlighted avoidance of the term schizophrenia by participants and use of alternative terms by professionals, which limited opportunities for understanding the label and challenging associated stigma. Participants strived to maintain normality despite potential stigma.

There is a need to address the process of giving a diagnosis as a phenomenon of consequence within its own terms. Implications relate to how professionals deliver and discuss the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

People with severe mental illness (SMI) die relatively young, with mortality rates four times higher than average, mainly from natural causes, including heart disease. We developed a computer-based physical health screening template for use with primary care information systems and evaluated its introduction across a whole city against standards recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for physical health and cardiovascular risk screening.

A significant proportion of SMI patients were excluded from the SMI register and only a third of people on the register had an annual physical health check recorded. The screening template was taken up by 75% of GP practices and was associated with better quality screening than usual care, doubling the rate of cardiovascular risk recording and the early detection of high cardiovascular risk.

A computerised annual physical health screening template can be introduced to clinical information systems to improve quality of care.

To examine data on referrals to an inner-city London memory service to explore any differences in referral rates, cognitive assessments and stages of dementia at presentation between ethnic groups.

African–Caribbean patients were well represented in the memory service. They were diagnosed with dementia on average 4.5 years younger than their White British counterparts and were more likely to be diagnosed with a vascular or mixed type dementia. However, scores on initial cognitive testing were significantly lower in the African–Caribbean group, possibly representing more advanced disease at presentation.

Initiatives to access Black and minority ethnic populations earlier in the course of their illness should be considered. Professionals need to consider the potential for cultural bias in memory testing and diagnosing dementia in these populations, and the importance of cultural competency in assessments.

This study provides an overview of the development of early intervention services for psychosis across England in February 2005. A bespoke self-report audit tool was completed by key informants across the eight regional development centres of the National Institute for Mental Health in England.

Out of 117 teams identified, 86 have funding, of which 63 are operational with case-managed patients (as of February 2005). Only 3 teams meet all 10 audited early intervention fidelity requirements and there are variations in service model, delivery setting and resources across teams.

Current inequity of access and the early, fragile nature of service development means that early intervention in England has reached a critical phase requiring consolidation.

To assess the impact of a total smoking ban in a high secure psychiatric hospital. Staff and patients were surveyed before and after implementation. Data were collected on untoward incidents, seclusions, nicotine replacement therapy and changes in psychotropic medication.

Of the 298 patients in the hospital for the evaluation period, 72.8% were smokers before the ban. There were no significant differences in rates of seclusion before and after the ban and only one significant comparison (P =0.01) showed an increase in untoward incidents for smokers. There were no significant increases in the use of psychotropic medication after the ban.

With adequate preparation, it is possible to implement a total smoking ban in a high secure psychiatric setting without serious negative consequences.

We review the prescribing rates for clozapine among all mental health trusts in England and explore whether it has changed with the introduction of NICE guidelines, generic clozapine and the Healthcare Commission ratings. Data were collected from mental health trusts in 2005–2006 and compared with a previous study from 2000. Mental health star ratings of 2004–2005 were taken from the Healthcare Commission.

We found a reduced inter-trust variability from 34-fold variation in 2000 to 5-fold variation in 2005–2006. There was a significant inverse relationship between star rating and clozapine prescribing.

NICE guidelines and generic clozapine seem to have improved access to gold standard therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Star ratings have little bearing on the implementation of NICE guidelines.

This study utilised qualitative methods to explore medical students' experiences of a clinical attachment in psychiatry and examine the impact of these on career intentions. Fifteen 4th-year students from the University of Bristol were interviewed and their responses analysed.

Four key themes of role models, difference, stigma and career choice emerged from the analysis. Role models could be more influential than the specialty when choosing career options. Many students experienced psychiatry as being different to other specialties. For some this was a reason not to pursue psychiatry as a career but for others it was a positive aspect of the specialty. Stigma arose from a variety of sources, notably from medical students themselves.

These findings are relevant given the current recruitment problems in psychiatry and need to be considered in the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical education.

A cross-sectional study aiming to assess the prevalence of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a community substitution treatment sample, and to assess and compare the characteristics of traumatic experience, substance use, and psychological and social factors in those with and without PTSD. All assessments were completed during the interview which took approximately 1.5 h.

The prevalence for current PTSD was 26.2% and for lifetime PTSD 42.9%. Traumatic experiences were extremely common, with two or more reported by 92.9% of the sample. The two groups differed significantly on the majority of psychological functioning and social variables, with women experiencing higher rates of PTSD and the non-PTSD group having lower rates of psychological impairment.

The research supported findings from previous studies. The very high incidence of traumatic experiences has not been reported before. Training and information about trauma and PTSD for substance misuse workers are therefore necessary so that PTSD can be more easily detected and treated.

There has been much uncertainty about the concept of recovery in psychosis. The aim of this paper is to conceptualise recovery, through service users' descriptions of their recovery stories. A qualitative approach (interpretive phenomenological analysis) was used to guide interviews and analysis of data.

Eight service users were interviewed about their recovery from psychosis. Data analysis revealed four superordinate themes: ‘impacts on mental health’, ‘self-change and adaptation’, ‘social redefinition’ and ‘individualised coping mechanisms’.

Data indicates that multiple dimensions of recovery are all important to individuals when considering their subjective experiences of recovery from psychosis. Recovery can only be conceptualised by the person making the recovery journey and treatment outcome measures must reflect this individuality.

We surveyed educational supervisors and trainees in Wessex about their experience of the first 6 months of using workplace-based assessments (WPBAs), to see whether they needed further support in using them and, if so, in which areas. An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all trainees and educational supervisors in Wessex.

Overall, 63% of trainees and 61% of educational supervisors responded; 22% of supervisors had not received training in WPBA and 61% of trainees identified barriers to completing it. Non-medical staff were rarely approached for assessments.

There is a need for further training of supervisors, a more user-friendly IT system and expansion of the role of non-medical staff as assessors.