Mental health

Latest news on mental health

Prison's mental health 'scandal'

Urgent action is demanded over inadequate provision of mental health services at a young offenders' institute.

Doctor alerted police to 'distressed' mother hours before child killings

The family of a baby and his two-year-old brother who were stabbed to death at home expressed their complete devastation yesterday at the loss of their "beautiful, innocent" children.A senior police officer described the scene inside the home in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, as "something no human being should ever have to see in their life". Police and ambulance crews who attended the house have been offered counselling. The boys, Romario Mullings-Sewell, two, and his three-month-old brother Delayno, were discovered at 6pm on Wednesday, a few hours after a family doctor had called police to express concerns at the erratic behaviour of their mother, Jael Mullings. The brothers had single stab wounds to their abdomens.As Mullings, 21, was arrested on suspicion of murder and sectioned under the Mental Health Act yesterday it emerged the family was known to social services, though the children were not on the at-risk register. The admission that the family was on the radar of social services is likely to once again focus attention on the efficiency of child protection measures in the wake of the death of Baby P in Haringey, north London.The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was assessing whether to launch a full inquiry after it was contacted by Greater Manchester police. The IPCC is already to investigate whether two officers who called at the house following the doctor's telephone call could have done anything to prevent the deaths.Teddy bears and floral tributes were left at the house yesterday as neighbours and friends struggled to understand what had happened. Melissa Bell, a 23-year-old friend of Mullings, said: "They were just gorgeous, beautiful, the three-month-old had just started to get a personality of his own."Details of the hours leading up to the murders emerged yesterday. Greater Manchester police received a phone call at 1.20pm on Wednesday from a GP who had been contacted by Mullings and was concerned for her and her children. Officers arrived at the house 90 minutes later as they had been given four separate addresses for Mullings. Unable to get an answer, they left after checking the back of the house and the surrounding area.A neighbour told police Mullings had been pushing a double buggy at a nearby shopping centre in a distressed state. Mullings then went to her mother's house. A police spokesman said: "While we were making these inquiries, we got a 999 call which suggested that the children were back in the house, dead."At 5.45pm paramedics were called to Mullings' home where they found the bodies of the children. The boys' family described their complete devastation in a statement released through Greater Manchester police."This family had two beautiful, innocent children called Romario, who was just two years old, and his brother, Delayno, who had only been born in July this year," they said."We ... are struggling to come to terms with the tragic events ... We cannot even begin to understand what happened. We hope that wherever the boys have gone to, they are at peace."Mullings and her children were known to social services but it is understood they were signed off from their care in January Pauline Newman, the director of children's services at Manchester city council, said an urgent review of her team's involvement with the family was under way. "This is an appalling tragedy and we offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these two young children," she said."Children's social care were not currently involved with the family, however in recent months the family were in receipt of community support services including nursery and childminding provision, whilst mother was attending higher education classes."Detective Superintendent Shaun Donnellan said his officers had been met by a scene no human should ever witness. The family, he said, were shellshocked."This is a lovely family, a fairly close family with two young children who everybody adored and doted on." He said police were alerted because people were worried by Mullings' demeanour and because an "unpleasant" situation was arising.Neighbours said Mullings had been troubled in recent months. They noticed her shouting in the street and talking to herself on Wednesday morning.Sandra Barnes, 41, said: "She was shouting 'Are you going to bomb me? Are you going to shoot me?' People were bringing their kids inside."Donna Rawson, 31, said: "At around 4pm all the kids were outside as they were getting ready for a school disco. She was on her own shouting at them asking if they were laughing at her. She was not with her kids. It makes me feel sick what has happened."TimelineMorning Neighbours notice that Romario and Delayno Mullings-Sewell's mother, Jael Mullings, shouting in the street and talking to herself.1.20pm A family doctor calls police to express concerns at her erratic behaviour.2.50pm With four separate addresses for Mullings, police officers eventually arrive at the boys' home in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester, but leave after getting no answer. They later receive a 999 call to say the children are in the house.5.45pm Police and paramedics reach the house, where they find the children's bodies.Later Mullings is arrested and sectioned under the Mental Health Act.Child protectionMental healthguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

New service offers round the clock mental health help

MENTAL health patients in the Lothians are set to benefit from a new team dealing with acute mental issues.

All in the family - scientists discover gene for cocaine addiction

It has become commonplace for people who are overweight to attribute their waistline to their DNA. Now, celebrities caught snorting cocaine might also be able to blame their parents.Scientists reported yesterday the discovery of a gene that increases the chances of becoming hooked on the drug. Addicts were 25% more likely to carry the gene variant than people who did not use cocaine, a study found.The discovery is unlikely to lead to a treatment for cocaine addicts, but scientists hope it could be used to screen for those most likely to have problems kicking the habit if they ever try the drug."If you are a carrier of this gene variant, the likelihood of getting addicted to cocaine is higher," said Rainer Spanagel, a professor of psychopharmacology at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, who led the study. "You can certainly use this as a vulnerability marker for cocaine addiction."He said people found to be susceptible to cocaine addiction could be given counselling or protected with experimental vaccines now being developed. The vaccines are designed to block the "high", or euphoria, associated with the drug.Last week, an analysis by the European Union's drug agency put Britain at the top of its list of cocaine-abusing states, with its users outnumbering all those elsewhere on the continent.Genetic factors, scientists believe, account for 70% of cocaine addiction, making it as heritable as schizophrenia and other mental health conditions. Studies of twins suggest alcoholism is about 50% genetic.Researchers linked a version of the CAMK4 gene with cocaine addiction after studying mice that had been genetically modified to alter the gene. One particular breed was affected more strongly by the drug and became addicted quicker than others in the group, according to the study in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.To see if the gene played a role in cocaine addiction in humans, the researchers ran genetic tests on 670 cocaine addicts and more than 700 matched non-users. While 40% of non-users carried the gene, it was found in half of the addicts.DrugsDrugs and alcoholMedical researchGeneticsHealthguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The online doctor will see you now

Therapy over the internet offers a cheap and accessible way to treat people with a range of mental health disorders (full text available to subscribers)

Almost 4,000 servicemen and women a year hit by mental problems

NEARLY 4,000 new cases of mental health disorders were diagnosed among armed services personnel last year, according to figures published yesterday.

Figures on forces mental illness

The Ministry of Defence is publishing statistics detailing the number of forces personnel suffering mental health problems.

Wales unveils strategy on suicide

Teachers and police officers will be trained to spot signs of mental health problems in a bid to help reduce suicides across Wales.

Cross-party attempt to fight extradition of British hacker

Senior politicians from all parties are urging the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, to halt the extradition of the computer hacker Gary McKinnon unless she receives a guarantee from the US that he will be allowed to serve any sentence imposed in Britain. The former home secretary David Blunkett is among those who believe that, because McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, he should be immediately repatriated if convicted.In an early day motion, the shadow justice minister, David Burrowes, has urged Smith not to permit the extradition without assurances from the US that McKinnon would be repatriated to serve any sentence in the UK if found guilty.Burrowes, the MP for the Enfield Southgate constituency in north London, where McKinnon lives, has alerted the home secretary to the "accepted practice" of the Dutch and Israeli governments requiring assurances from the US that any nationals with medical or mental health disabilities being deported to face trial should be repatriated to serve any sentence imposed.Blunkett, who was in office when the 2003 Extradition Act was passed, said yesterday that he was supporting calls for McKinnon to serve any sentence in the UK because of his "special needs". Burrowes's motion has already been supported by Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman, Chris Mullin, the former Foreign Office minister, and the Tory MP John Bercow.Burrowes has also asked Harriet Harman, the leader of the house, for a debate on the proposed extradition. He noted that the house had debated the case of the NatWest Three, also known as the Enron Three, and asked Harman: "Can at least similar efforts be made on behalf of my constituent, who is a vulnerable young man of little means who was ... recently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome?"Lord West, the Home Office minister with responsibility for security, wrote to Burrowes last week telling him that "we reconsidered ... but found no grounds for overturning the order to surrender".McKinnon has also had support from the leading constitutional lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC. "Jack Straw bent over backwards to accommodate Pinochet's medical condition," said Robertson, in a reference to the decision not to extradite the late Chilean dictator because he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. "It is highly unsatisfactory that this gifted and unusual British citizen should be extradited to face a massive sentence when he could have been prosecuted here before a British jury."Lawyers acting for McKinnon, 42, are seeking a judicial review of the case. McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, said: "Gary has Asperger's syndrome ... He believed the UK police when, almost seven years ago, they told him he would probably get six months' community service. Without having engaged a lawyer, he naively admitted to computer misuse but has always denied the alleged damage."Criminal justiceInternetJacqui SmithUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds