There's a story on the BBC about a man suffering a mental health crisis, who when he went for help was told to drink warm milk by health professionals. I wonder if this story is all that uncommon and whether there are a lot of people out there who are not getting the crisis service they need.
One piece of research that probably won't get much coverage as it goes against the general media perception of mental illness and dangerousness is a British Journal of Psychiatry study which finds that there has been a decline in the number of homicides attributed to mental disorder since 1981, with general homicides continuing to rise.
The researchers stress, however, that it is not yet clear whether the decrease is explained by improvements in services or "an informal change to the legal tests for the finding of homicide due to mental disorder".
Another report in the journal which may challenge preconceptions found that anti-psychotic prescribing quality in south London was the same for black and white patients. Apparently previous studies have found a higher likelihood of higher dose prescribing for black patients, in line with suggestions there is institutional discrimination within mental health services.
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