Alcohol and drug addiction means Scots, almost two times more likely to kill or their own lives, compared with people in England and Wales, published research shows.
Results of the National University of Manchester confidential investigation of the killings and suicides of people with mental disorders (NIR), also show that the number of psychiatric patients to commit murder or suicide was proportionally much higher in Scotland.
"Lessons for the mentally ill in Scotland report, in Scotland, raises these high mortality rates north of the border for alcohol and drugs, as among the population in general and mental health patients.
NCI examined all suicides and murders in the total population in Scotland, as well as those committed by persons in support mental health services, and compared their results for England and Wales.
Suicide rates in Scotland equate to 18.7 per 100000 population, compared with 10.2 per 100000 in England and Wales, while murder rates north of the border was 2.12 per 100000 people, compared with 1.23 at 100000 in England and Wales. North and South is the highest among young people, the report found.
"During the period of training - six years for suicide and five years for murder - there were about 5000 suicides, homicides and 500 in Scotland," said Louis Appleby, professor of psychiatry and director of the NCI. "But the survey showed that only 28% of people her own life and 12% of the murderers, recently mental health patients.
"It was a positive recent decline in suicides among the general population of Scotland, but the most striking features of Boards north of the border is much higher than that in England and Wales.
"Even murder in Scotland is significantly higher than in England and Wales. But unlike the performance of suicides, homicides domestic prices are high mainly because of the high prices in some parts of the country, namely Glasgow and Argyll and Clyde."
In Scotland, as in England, Wales and elsewhere in the report notes that the murder was a crime committed mostly young people, against young people. The Panel noted that in the cases studied, alcohol and drugs often took a weapon, and usually a knife or other sharp objects.
"The drugs and knives are dangerously confused, so that the political reaction to these deaths are due to focus on alcoholism and drug addiction among youth and bear arms sheet of young people," said Professor Appleby.
"The growing number of crimes, killing in recent years, is the result of an increase of killings of young people, mostly men under the age of 25 years, but most of them are not mentally ill. This is a public health approach should be focused on the murder of alcohol and drugs, mental health until the disease.
"Alcoholism and drug addiction on the basis of these results, and that seems to be an important contribution to the risk for mental health and society at large. The results indicate that alcohol and drugs in Scotland are high suicide and homicide, and how often occurring as background in our report, frightening. "
Of the 1373 patients in the report was suicide history of alcoholism in 785 cases on average 131 deaths a year, the stories of drug abuse in 522 cases and 87 deaths per year.
Of the 58 patients, reported murders, 41 were stories of alcoholism and drug abuse were 45. Of all the authors, whether patients, drug addiction and alcoholism are the most common diagnoses. In both suicide and murder, most of them are not under the control of passions.
"Our results confirm the view that alcohol and drugs are the most pressing problems in the field of mental health in Scotland and psychiatric care can play its role", said Professor Appleby, based in Manchester School of Medicine and Humanities.
"They must ensure that frontline medical staff are qualified and confident in the assessment and management of abuse that the development of services dedicated dual diagnosis, and to establish close relations with groups of drug addiction."
The report also makes the following recommendations for clinical care:
- Specialist mental health teams, outreach services for patients who are at risk of losing contact with caution
- Fundamentals follow discharge after hospital, that risk management in the cooperative and patient and community groups
- More intensive monitoring of patients recently hospitalized
- Withdrawal of ligature points patient stations
- Prevention of room air into the hall of improvements in environmental protection and strict control exits
- Carefully assess risk during the prior consent to discharge from hospital
- To improve mental health for young people who have greater access and early intervention
- Clinical positive approach to risk management in a dialogue with the public
- An analysis of the reasons for detention of offenders with severe mental illness.
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
