A retrospective case-note review was undertaken at five English prisons between June 2008 and March 2009 to estimate the proportion of psychiatric medicines (antidepressants, antipsychotics and hypnotics/anxiolytics) reported at prison reception that are discontinued on entry to prison.

Of the 1006 records sampled, the review showed that 18% of prisoners had been prescribed psychiatric medication before being placed in custody. Altogether, 240 separate psychiatric medicines were recorded among prisoners at reception. Of these, 47% were not prescribed during the first week of custody. In only 11% of cases where medication was discontinued had psychiatric assessment been completed.

Prison mental health policy states that psychiatric medication should not be withdrawn in custody without proper clinical assessment. Denial of medication in the absence of clinical assessment during early custody has the potential to create additional stress in individuals during a period of increased vulnerability and risk.

To share evaluation findings of a new decentralised mental healthcare system addressing Axis I disorders, developed in four subdistricts of Aceh Besar in Indonesia following the 2004 Asian tsunami. Two complementary methodologies were employed: an adequacy survey that assessed whether agreed programme implementation tasks were completed, and an outcome study that utilised patient, caregiver and staff assessment of the programme to determine what changes, if any, resulted from participation in the programme.

The system is functional in 3 of 4 subdistricts, and 47 of 53 subdistrict clinics (puskesmas) have trained mental healthcare nurses. Both patients and caregivers reported statistically significant differences when ranking patient wellbeing and were able to qualitatively describe specific changes in patient symptomatology and social functioning.

Results indicate that (a) the creation of a decentralised system with outreach at multiple levels, (b) emphasis on staff capacity building within a wider household-to-hospital continuum of care, and (c) incorporation of community volunteers working with trained medical personnel led to effective treatment options for people with Axis I disorders in a resource-poor setting.

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.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the Harrow Assertive Outreach Team in reducing hospital admissions. We compared first- and second-year admissions of a cohort of 76 patients.

Significant reductions in the number of admissions and number of days admitted were noted in the second year. In the subcohort of patients admitted in both years, the reduction in the number of admissions was significant but reduction in number of days admitted was not.

Hospital admissions may be reduced by appointment of consultant psychiatrist and approved mental health practitioner, home treatment approach and intensive case management.