bmj.com -- Press Releases

Press Releases Saturday 11 September 1999
No 7211 Volume 319

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(1) SCOTTISH STUDY SHOWS LACK OF MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICE FOR CHILDREN ENTERING CARE

(2) NEW SERIES TACKLES COMPLEMENTARY
MEDICINE

(1) SCOTTISH STUDY SHOWS LACK OF MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICE FOR CHILDREN ENTERING CARE

(Psychiatric disorder among children at time of entering local
authority care: questionnaire survey)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7211/675

A considerable proportion of young children have a serious
psychiatric disorder at the time they enter local authority care,
but are not receiving mental health services, according to a
report in this week's BMJ. Dr Gisela Dimigen and colleagues
from the University of Glasgow and Yorkhill NHS Trust, say
that their findings indicate a need for early intervention policies
to help this vulnerable group.

Grave concerns have previously been voiced about the high
rate of psychiatric disorders among children in the care system,
say the authors, but until now, little has been known about the
mental health of children at the time they enter local authority
care. In their study of 70 children, during the first six weeks of
entering care in the Glasgow area, Dimigen et al discovered
that the most common disorders among the children were
conduct disorder and depression.

The authors report that 30 per cent of children had severe
attention difficulties and 26 per cent had "autistic-like"
detachment. They also found that 38 per cent of boys and 33
per cent of girls showed high levels of "conduct disorder". High
levels of "depression" were significantly more common among
children in residential establishments than among foster children.

Dimigen et al conclude that their findings show a worrying gap
in mental health provision and that the complex needs of these
children can only be addressed effectively through
multidisciplinary discussion and strategic planning.

Contact:

Dr Gisela Dimigen, Senior Lecturer, Department of
Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Email: G.Dimigen{at}psy.gla.ac.uk

Ms Sally Butler, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Department
of Clinical Psychology, Yorkhill NHS Trust

(2) NEW SERIES TACKLES COMPLEMENTARY
MEDICINE

(What is complementary medicine?)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7211/693

This week's BMJ sees the beginning of a new 12 part series of
the ABC of Complementary Medicine. This first issue looks at
what is actually meant by the term "complementary medicine";
how this area of medicine developed; how practitioners are
trained and regulated and how they might approach the
treatment of patients.

Contact: Dr Catherine Zollman, General Practitioner, Bristol
Email: czollman{at}dial.pipex.com

Dr Andrew Vickers, formerly Research Council for
Complementary Medicine, London. From October: Integrative
Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,
New York
Email: ajvrccm{at}gn.apc.org

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