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    Mixed-ward mental health worry

    Posted on 30/01/2008

    Women and young patients detained under the 1983 Mental Health Act are at risk of sexual abuse and harassment, a report released today says.

    And many of the 6,000 patients interviewed for the Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC)'s biennial report said that their hospital stay was frightening.

    The commission found that nearly 40% of mental health wards that it visited were over-subscribed, and that youngsters and women were often treated on mixed-sex, adult wards.

    'Patients admitted to hospital under compulsory powers should be able to expect that they will be cared for in a safe and welcoming environment,' said MHCA chief executive, Professor Chris Heginbotham. 'Sadly this is too often not the case.'

    Meanwhile, research published yesterday suggested that people in their 40s were most vulnerable to depression, with 44 being the age of highest risk. The joint study by the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College in the US found that the young and elderly were at the lowest risk of the illness.

    'We welcome any scientific contribution to our understanding of this illness,' said Sane chief executive Marjorie Wallace, 'particularly if the research can aid the development of better treatments, both therapeutic and pharmaceutical.'



    Category: Healthcare


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