Suicide is a major public health issue of global concern. It is the leading cause of death in young Irish men, marking suicide and suicidal behaviour as important topics for clinical epidemiology and public health research. Ireland has a statutory obligation from the “Reach Out” policy document to “systematically plan research into suicidal behaviour to address deficits in our knowledge” (pp. 50). Suicide is undoubtedly a complex phenomenon and therefore one which requires advanced methods of investigation and innovative approaches to research the factors underpinning suicide in modern Ireland, the development and evaluation of prevention strategies and the informing of evidence-based policy.

The Mental Health Act (MHA) 2001 has major implications for treating patients with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), especially as those referred for treatment are among the most severely ill and often lose capacity. Under the MHA 2001, a person may only be treated without consent if they are an involuntary patient. However, there is no provision in the Act for treating voluntary inpatients whose mental state has deteriorated but who do not seek to leave hospital. Such people may lack capacity to make treatment decisions but be passively compliant.

The Wards of Court system is currently the only legal recourse but has been criticised by the Law Reform Commission and is unwieldy. Further legislation governing treatment of people lacking capacity to consent to ECT or withhold consent is required to protect and advance treatment of all concerned.

The goal of undertaking postgraduate training in psychiatry is to become a competent specialist, and the educational model under which one is trained and assessed is crucial in achieving this goal. Over the years, traditional training models have emphasised what trainees know, over a given period of time, with outcomes assessed mainly by simple recall of knowledge. While these traditional approaches have met with varying levels of success, they are less than optimal when the goal is to train individuals to perform specific, job-related skills. This recognition has led to a global move towards competency based training models where the focus of training and assessment is the mastery of specific knowledge and skills as well as the conduct of the doctor in day-to-day clinical situations. In this article, a general overview of competency-based training in psychiatry is followed by a review of recent developments in Ireland in a global context.

Objectives: Structured professional judgement is now the most widely accepted approach to clinical risk assessment and risk management. The Suicide Risk Assessment and Management Manual (S-RAMM) is a new structured professional judgement tool closely modelled on the HCR-20. This is the first prospective validation study for this instrument.

Methods: Two post-membership registrars jointly interviewed 81 of 83 current inpatients to rate the S-RAMM. Two assistant psychologists independently rated the HCR-20, GAF and PANSS. All incidents of self-harm, attempted suicide, suicide and violence to others were collated from hospital reporting of critical incidents over the next six months supplemented by examination of other records.

Results: For combined self-harm and suicide outcomes, the S-RAMM total score using the receiver operating characteristic had an area under the curve AUC=0.89, (95% CI 0.79 to 0.99). The S-RAMM performed as well for the prediction of self-harm and suicide as the HCR-20 did for violence, and better than measures of mental state (PANSS total score) and global function (GAF).

Conclusions: The S-RAMM has better than minimum acceptable characteristics for use as a clinical or research tool for suicide risk assessment, and performs almost as well as the HCR-20 does for violence. Further prospective studies are now required, in other populations.

Objectives: To describe the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and the treatment needs of new committals to Irish prisons.

Methods: A population survey of 615 prisoners representing 7.9% of male committals to Irish prisons in the year of survey, 313 remands (9.6% of total remand committals) and 302 sentenced committals (6.4% of total sentenced committals). The main outcome measures were ICD-10 diagnoses of mental disorder based on interviews using SADS-L and prison medical records.

Results: Current prevalence rates of any psychotic illness were 3.8% (remand) and 0.3% (sentenced), six month prevalence rate 5.1% (remand) and 2.6% (sentenced) and lifetime rate 9.3% (remand) and 6.6% (sentenced). Schizophrenia and drug/organic psychoses were the most common psychoses. Major depressive disorder had a current prevalence of 4.5% (remand) and 4.6% (sentenced), a six month prevalence of 4.8% (remand) and 6.0% (sentenced), and a lifetime prevalence of 8.6% (remand) and 15.9% (sentenced). Sixty-point-six per cent of the sample had a current substance misuse problem.

Conclusions: There is significant psychiatric morbidity in committal prisoners.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes to medication in relation to insight, purpose in life, symptoms and sociodemographic factors among a cohort of stable patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Method: We included 70 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder attending a Dublin suburban mental health service. All participants were 18 years or older and were excluded if they had a learning disability, acquired brain injury resulting in unconsciousness, and psychosis secondary to a general medical condition or illicit substance misuse. All participants were given self report questionnaires which included Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-30), Birchwood Insight Scale, and Purpose in Life test. Symptoms were assessed using the Scale for Assessment of Positive and Negative symptoms. All data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

Results: We found that 86% (n = 60) of the participants had positive attitudes to medication, and 82% (n = 58) had good insight into their illness. Only 27% (n = 19) were found to have a definite purpose in life. There was a significant negative relationship between attitudes to medication and delusions (r = -0.25, n = 70, p < 0.05) and a significant positive relationship between insight and attitudes to medication (r = 0.0.28, n = 70, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Many factors are involved in the multifaceted issue of attitudes to medication. Researchers must realise that these factors do not remain constant and may change with time and over the course of illness and treatment.

Objective: A four-week longitudinal study was conducted to assess the relationship between insight, psychopathology and treatment compliance in schizophrenia.

Method: The study was conducted using Insight and Treatment Attitude Questionnaire (ITAQ), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS). The sample comprised 50 patients with schizophrenia diagnosed according to research criteria of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), with a mean duration of illness of 5.32 years.

Results: Substantial psychopathology was observed at intake and it improved significantly at the end of four weeks. Similar changes were observed in the score of insight and of compliance over four weeks. The insight and the compliance were positively correlated to each other at the beginning and at the end of four weeks. Both of these were negatively correlated with psychopathology scores on both occasions.

Conclusion: Insight and psychopathology remain important determinants of treatment compliance in schizophrenia over short term and long term follow up.

Objectives: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the strongest predictor of suicidal behaviour. This retrospective study reviewed all DSH presentations to our Paediatric Emergency Department between 2002-2006.

Method: Using database and medical records we profiled these presentations. Data was coded and statistically analysed.

Results: There were 253 DSH attendances. Twenty-four percent were living in care, 15% were under 12 years and 14% presented more than once. Overdoses (61%) were more common than cutting (16%) and 56% had a psychiatric condition.

Conclusions: DSH presents an ongoing challenge to child and adolescent mental health services and those working in suicide prevention. Identifying the characteristics of these young people is essential to providing appropriate treatment for this high-risk group.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence, psychiatric co-morbidity and management of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) in patients admitted to a tertiary referral Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU).

Methods: Medical records of patients admitted to the EMU between 2003 and 2005 were examined and data from neurological, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments were analysed.

Results: Over a three year period 224 patients were referred to the EMU and 44 (20%) were diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). A total of 13 people (6%) were diagnosed with both PNES and epilepsy. Of those diagnosed with PNES 34 (75%) were referred to psychology services for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and 26 (58%) were followed-up by psychiatry services.

Conclusions: The prevalence rates for PNES and co-existing PNES and epilepsy are consistent with previous reports. Rates of psychiatric co-morbidity were less than would be expected in this clinical population. Clear evidence-based guidelines to manage people with PNES are required.

Objectives: There is a substantial knowledge gap about the distribution of mental health in community populations. The European Social Survey is particularly useful as it contains information on over 40,000 individuals, including 2,286 Irish adults. The objective of this study is to conduct a large scale statistical analysis to examine the distribution and determinants of mental wellbeing in a large representative sample of the Irish population.

Method: Analysis of the European Social Survey using robust multiple linear and non-linear regression techniques. The data-set contains WHO-Five scores and subjective wellbeing for a sample of 2,286 Irish people interviewed in their homes in 2005.

Results: Ireland has the second highest average WHO-Five score among the 22 countries in the European Social Survey. Multiple linear regression analysis across the distribution of WHO-Five reveals a wellbeing gradient largely related to education and social capital variables. A probit model examining the determinants of vulnerability to psychiatric morbidity reveals that a similar set of factors predict scores below the threshold point on the WHO-Five scale.

Conclusions: The results are consistent with marked differences in mental wellbeing across education levels and variables relating to social capital factors. Such indicators provide a useful index for policy-makers and researchers. However, much further work is needed to identify causal mechanisms generating observed differences in mental health across different socioeconomic groups.

Objectives: To assess whether transition from the Mental Treatment Act (MTA), 1945 to the Mental Health Act (MHA), 2001 has had any impact on the clinical profile of patients in the West Galway Mental Health Services who are admitted on an involuntary basis.

Methods: Data were collected from clinical records in relation to all those individuals residing in the West Galway Mental Health Services who were admitted involuntarily in the 12 months prior to and subsequent to the introduction of the MHA 2001.

Results: A total of 175 individuals were included in this study (n = 91 - MTA 1945; and n = 84 - MHA 2001). No significant differences were found between the two groups in relation to demographic data, rates of involuntary detention or duration of involuntary detention. The applicant was less likely to be a family member under the MHA 2001 (54%) than the MTA 1945 (85%).

Conclusions: Transition from the MTA 1945 to the MHA 2001 has had minimal impact on the admission rates, clinical profile or duration of detention of patients admitted involuntarily in the West Galway Mental Health Services.

Objective: Psychiatric illness and the use of psychotropic medication are recognised as factors that may impair driving ability. Clinicians in the UK have a legal duty to advise patients on the effects of illness and prescribed medication on driving ability. Although clinicians in Ireland have no equivalent legal obligations, good medical practice suggests that doctors should be aware of whether patients are active drivers, and issue appropriate advice, supported by adequate documentation in clinical notes.

Method: The initial phase of the study analysed 44 outpatient records and 48 discharge records to ascertain the level of documentation regarding driving status, and advice given to patients regarding the effect of illness or medication on driving ability. The second phase involved distribution of an anonymous questionnaire to 18 psychiatrists employed in the acute psychiatric unit setting.

Results: Although there was minimal documentation regarding the potential effect of illness on driving ability, more than 50% of case notes revealed documented advice to patients regarding side-effects of medication and driving ability. Over 50% of case notes contained advice about medication compliance, but none contained cautionary advice about operating machinery. All psychiatrists admitted not being aware of the driving status of every patient they reviewed. Over 50% admitted to advising patients of the effect of illness or medication on driving ability, but fewer reported documenting this advice on every occasion. All psychiatrists reported that they would benefit from training in this area.

Conclusion: This study suggests that there is underdocumentation of advice given to patients regarding the effect of their symptoms or medication on driving ability. Clinicians need to improve their awareness of patients' driving status, in addition to receiving training on what their responsibilities are in this regard.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to identify the characteristics of the patients who were commenced in a newly developed opiate substitute prescribing (OSP) programme, to determine their rate of retention and to ascertain the patients' opinions of the service. We also wished to determine rates of blood borne viruses in this population.

Methods: Data were collected from three sources: the Shaftesbury Square Hospital Substitute Prescribing Database, patient charts and an anonymous user views questionnaire. We also conducted viral screening. Inclusion criteria were opiate dependence according to ICD-101 for at least one year, in individuals who were 18 years of age or older. The sample comprised the first 80 patients who attended the service, who were followed up over two years.

Results: A total of 44% of our original cohort remained engaged with the service two years after commencement. Of the remainder, 18% engaged with OSP elsewhere and 13% completed a successful detoxification from all opiate drug use. Factors which were associated with continuation in the programme were prescription of methadone (as compared with buprenorphine), female sex and higher doses of OSP. Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with the service. Of those who were tested for blood borne viruses, more than half were positive for hepatitis C infection.

Conclusions: The response to the development of the opiate substitution programme demonstrated that there was a need in the community which had not been met in the past. Service users who attended the programme reported high levels of satisfaction.

Objectives: To assess patient satisfaction with mental health services. Client satisfaction with mental health services is attracting increasing attention and is now considered a key outcome variable in evaluating mental health services. The Quality Framework (Mental Health Commission (MHC)), and Vision for Change (VFC) support such evaluation. However, there are no published quantitative data from Irish users of a community mental health service.

Method: We invited outpatients attending a Dublin community mental health service to complete a standardised self-report instrument (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, CSQ-8) and provide qualitative feedback.

Results: Of the seventy-nine respondents, 80% report they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service. However, they were critical of; access to, operation of, and communication with the mental health services.

Conclusions: Although satisfied, when given the opportunity to comment, service users can be critical of aspects of the service they receive. Only using quantitative evaluation of outpatient client satisfaction levels may fail to capture important consumer suggestions for service development. Recent recommendations and upcoming changes would address a number of the criticisms of mental health services identified in this study.