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Schizophrenia Commission event in Manchester

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A few of us from Rethink Manchester Carers in Action attended the Schizophrenia Commission's Manchester event yesterday at the University of Manchester. We heard from a really wide range of speakers including people with personal experience of schizophrenia and professionals working the field.

The morning started with some really moving testimonies from carers and service users, talking about their struggles to get adequate care for loved ones and the side effects of anti psychotic medication. One of the speakers has a son with schizophrenia. She said "I just want to be a mum and spend time with my son", highlighting how deeply the illness can affect our family relationships as we change from parent/sibling/friend to carer, and even then can feel excluded and unvalued by service providers.

Other speakers included a GP from Birmingham, who raised the shocking statistic that in one survey, schizophrenia was found to be the least favourite illness to treat by GPs. She made a compelling case for primary care to take schizophrenia and other mental health conditions much more seriously. We also heard from a psychiatrist based at Manchester University and his research on cognitive remediation therapy and have invited him to come to speak at one of our group meetings. There were many other speakers addressing topics such as medication and the evidence base for treatment of schizophrenia, as well as very interesting discussion - must of which was posted on Twitter through Paul Jenkins' (Rethink Mental Illness Chief Exec) Twitter account. The theme of families and carers needing to be seen as partners by professionals came up time and time again and is certainly something that we have been pushing for in Manchester. A report of the day will be posted on the Schizophrenia Commission's website - we'll let you know when it goes live.

Were you there? What really stood out for you from the speakers and discussion?

Comments

Lindsey Cree said…
There was a good combination of speakers, including service users, carers, commissioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, plus the health editor from the Independent was on the panel. Listening to views about what's known and what's not known about schizophrenia or psychosis, it's evident to me that more research needs to be done on medication and causes. From talking with some of the psychiatrists it became clear to me they want to know their patients better and for me this is the essence of improving the care and treatment they provide. It's refreshing schizophrenia is being talked about openly in this way and I suggest if this kind of dialogue and transparency continues, we might begin to see some positive changes in the way we work together, ultimately benefiting the sufferers of this challenging and enigmatic illness.
22 February 2012 at 21:57
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