To examine outcomes of information received by callers to a psychiatric medication helpline. A questionnaire was completed over the telephone with 123 callers, asking about the reason for contacting the helpline, frequency of self-referral to a healthcare professional, action taken as a result of information received, and satisfaction with the service and quality of information received.

Almost half of callers reported changes to their medication (stopping, starting, switching or dose adjustment) after consulting the helpline, with the majority receiving reassurance, referral, review and monitoring. Over half contacted a healthcare professional afterwards. Satisfaction with the quality of information and service provided by the helpline was very high.

Information provided by a psychiatric medication helpline can result in changes to caller's treatment and increase contact with other healthcare professionals.

Recent guidelines on perinatal mental health highlight the need to predict, detect and prevent mental illness in childbearing women, but there are a limited number of studies in this field. This study describes the characteristics of 277 service users newly referred to a specialist community perinatal mental health service over 1 year, and discusses the implications for effective management of mental illness related to childbearing.

The most common diagnosis was affective disorder (51%), of which 8% had bipolar affective disorder. Almost three in five women had previous non-pregnancy-related psychiatric contact and a fourth had previous ante/postnatal psychiatric contact. More than half were on medication at conception, most commonly antidepressants (43%).

This study highlights the opportunities for identifying women at high risk of postnatal mental illness and the need for adequate pregnancy planning advice for women taking psychotropic medication.

Long-term admission trends in a large specialist National Health Service (NHS) hospital were examined over a 3-year period. These were compared with three earlier 3-year periods. the medical records were examined for admission numbers, source of admissions, length of stay, legal status, reason for admission and readmission rate.

The percentage of patients admitted from home decreased over time, whereas the admissions from group homes increased threefold. Long-stay admissions decreased in the second and third periods followed by an increase in the fourth period. There was a progressive increase in formal admissions and a decrease in informal ones. There was an increase in admissions of people with psychiatric illness and a decrease in admissions because of social difficulties. the percentage of first admissions gradually increased and the percentages of readmissions gradually decreased.

People with intellectual disability are more likely to be admitted for psychiatric reasons and to be detained under the Mental Health Act than in the 1970s. There should be a much greater interaction between hospital and community services to facilitate shorter stays and early discharge. Out-of-area placements need to be taken account of while commissioning for the total need in a geographical area.

A postal survey assessed current views of a random sample of 154 British psychiatrists on aetiological factors in depression and schizophrenia.

Genetics, biochemical abnormalities and substance misuse were considered important factors in both illnesses. Beyond that, psychiatrists varied widely in their views. Depression was viewed as a more multifactorial condition with psychological/social factors more important, whereas biological factors were considered more important in schizophrenia. Aetiological factors were thought to vary more in depression than in schizophrenia and discussing them was seen as more important in patients with depression.

Psychiatrists' attitudes are likely to influence treatment. Patients may encounter different views depending on their illness and on the particular psychiatrist's views.

The risk of developing fatal tachyarrhythmias can increase in patients receiving antipsychotic medication. Two surveys were conducted, one to evaluate junior doctors' knowledge of the QTc interval and the second to investigate the experience of electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring among patients on four acute psychiatric wards.

The first survey revealed that junior doctors were lacking in knowledge regarding the QTc interval. the second revealed that ECG monitoring of high-risk patients was inadequate. Half of the high-risk patients who required an ECG were not given one, whereas 6% who did not require one still received this investigation.

There is a need to increase knowledge about the cardiac risk of antipsychotic medication on psychiatric wards. Following simple recommendations could improve clinical practice.

To examine knowledge among Scottish psychiatrists of the 1996 guidance on National Health Service (NHS) responsibility for continuing healthcare, a postal questionnaire was devised and sent to the 132 consultants and specialist registrars in the South-East Scotland Deanery in May 2007.

Two-thirds of the clinicians (67%, n= 88) responded, 88% of whom had in-patient responsibilities. Only 24% responded positively to an awareness of the current Scottish guidance. There was a strong association between awareness of the guidance and psychiatric speciality, and greater awareness among clinicians with previous experience of a relevant complaint or appeal.

Uncertainty about NHS continuing healthcare guidance among practising psychiatrists suggests a need for increased awareness of the issues, with training implications for the new guidance on NHS continuing healthcare in Scotland which became effective in February 2008.

To describe services used by children with epilepsy seen by a liaison psychiatry team in Scotland and to examine existing guidance. Case notes of all patients with epilepsy were systematically reviewed to determine service involvement.

The majority of patients attended joint psychiatry and neurology clinics. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) recommendations for the psychosocial management of children with epilepsy were met. Most patients were assessed by a clinical psychologist and received educational psychology input, individual and family treatment approaches. Half had social work involvement.

A liaison model is presented for the management of children with more complex epilepsy and psychiatric disorders.

This survey was conducted as part of the baseline assessment of trainees' needs concerning the legal aspects of child care and to evaluate the implications for the regional academic programme. A group of specialist registrars in child and adolescent psychiatry in the North Western Deanery completed a questionnaire-based survey.

None of the specialist registrars had experience in forensic child and adolescent psychiatry. With regard to the legislation: 13 (100%) mentioned the Mental Health Act 1983; 12 (92.3%) the Children Act 1989; 7 (53.8%) the Human Rights Act 1998. of those surveyed, 13 (100%) were aware of parental responsibility; 10 (76.9%) identified the Children Act as being less stigmatising as compared to the Mental Health Act. Five (38.4%) had written court reports, and eight (61.5%) felt fairly confident after the 1-day training course. Overall interest in becoming an expert witness was 69.2% (n=9).

Deficits in knowledge about the legal framework, limited experience in forensic placements and lack of interest in becoming an expert witness need to be further explored.