Doctors failing to identify bipolar disorder

Doctors failing to identify bipolar disorder
Doctors are failing to recognise manic depression despite it being the most common mental illness, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said yesterday.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 12
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Mentally ill people receive poor physical healthcare
The stigma of mental illness means patients often receive second-class physical healthcare – but there is a solution to tackling the prejudice.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 1
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Teenage muggers spared jail
Teenage muggers who rob with “minimal force” will be spared jail under new sentencing guidelines released yesterday. Juveniles can also cite peer pressure as a mitigating factor.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 11
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Take responsibility for health, says PM
Prime minister Tony Blair will call on people to take more responsibility for their health to reduce demands on the NHS in a speech today.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 2
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Prison hanging
A mother found hanged at Brockhill prison in 2001 weeks after giving birth had been given inadequate support, an inquest jury concluded.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 11
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The death sentence
When Robert Bates tried to commit suicide in a young offender institution, it set off a tragic chain of events.
Source:- The Independent, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 10-11
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NHS needs to spot financial problems early
The NHS needs a “failure regime” to spot financial problems early, according to an Audit Commission report.
Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 3

Interview with Louise Casey
Asbo champion Louise Casey, head of the government’s Respect drive, is back to improve parenting.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 26 July 2006, page 1
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Scottish news
 
Couple jailed after child found behaving like a dog
Social workers found four children shared their home with 22 dogs and lived in “appalling conditions” after one of them began growling and displaying dog-like behaviour at school, Arbroath Sheriff Court was told.
The children, aged five, eight, 12 and 13, had not been washed or clothed properly and were living in a house filled with dog faeces – two were later found to have an infection caused by ingesting animal faeces.
A 35-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the children’s identity, were each jailed for 70 days. They had earlier admitted neglecting the children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health.
Source:- The Herald, Wednesday 26 July 2006
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Union labelled autistic civil servant ‘health risk’
An autistic civil servant was fired by tax office managers after union representatives labelled him a health hazard, a tribunal has heard.
Patrick Roberts was sacked from his job with customs and excise when representatives from the LTS union described his behaviour as “a health and safety risk” to his fellow workers.
Mr Roberts, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome was disciplined following accusations that he deliberately shoved into female colleagues and listened in on their conversations. He was sacked in 2002 over a row with his line manager.
Source:- The Scotsman, Wednesday 26 July 2006
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Vast pay rises after council shake-up
Eight senior managers at Edinburgh Council’s fledgling children and families department shared pay increases totalling £109,198 last year during a reorganisation of education and social work departments.
One of the top winners of the department’s overhaul was Alan Jackson – a former service manager who was appointed to the new post of neighbourhood manager. His salary increased from £48,883 to £80,464.
Paul Highet – who was promoted to neighbourhood manager – was offered a £28,000 increase, also to £80,464. While Christine Ferguson, formerly senior education officer, now manager of schools services, received a 36 per cent rise, from £51,207 to nearly £70,000.
Source:- The Scotsman, Wednesday 26 July 2006
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Fit to leave but stuck in hospital for 9 months
A disabled man has been left languishing in hospital nearly nine months after doctors gave him the all-clear because Edinburgh Council can’t find him a home.
Alastair Scott was told he was fit to leave Astley Ainsley Hospital in early November after breaking his leg. His sister said she would care for Alistair, who is wheelchair-bound and brain-damaged, but needed somewhere bigger than her two-bedroom flat.
Almost nine months later the council still hasn’t been able to find them a suitable new home. They need somewhere with three bedrooms which can be converted to include a downstairs bathroom and bedroom.
Source: The Scotsman, Wednesday 26 July 2006
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Welsh news

Residents are told loophole will mean mental health unit in their community
A planning law loophole could result in former older people’s residential care homes being converted into mental health units across Wales it has emerged.
Residents in Rhymney, in the Valleys, have learnt of the loophole after the sale of a care home in the area to a London company.
Cambian Healthcare have told public meetings in the town hall of their plans to convert the care home into a psychiatric unit. They said that they did not need to apply to Caerphilly Council for a change of use as the property was covered by the same planning category due to its former use.
Residents have now expressed concern that the loophole could have implications for the whole of Wales.
Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday, 26 July 2006
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