Irish homeless hit by surge in mental illness
Study reveals schizophrenia diagnosis hike at hospitals
SCHIZOPHRENIA was diagnosed among more than a quarter of homeless patients admitted to psychiatric units in 10 years.
A paper in the Irish Medical Journal reveals there was an increase of nearly 50% from 2007 to 2016.
Researchers found 28% of homeless patients who attended the units were identified as having schizophrenia – the most common diagnosis.
This differs from national admissions where depressive disorders were the most common diagnosis in 2016, making up 27% of psychiatric admissions, while schizophrenia was diagnosed in 19% of cases.
The authors said: “The number of admissions with no fixed abode has increased over the last decade but their characteristics are largely unchanged in the last 10 years.
“Most of those with no fixed abode were younger males, single and admitted for short periods of time, largely on a voluntary basis with diagnoses of schizophrenia or disorders related to alcohol and drug misuse.” The team found these patients didn’t tend to stay in psychiatric hospitals for long, with just under half remaining for less than one week.
The study said while nationally the numbers of patients in psychiatric hospitals has plummeted nearly 10-fold in the last 50 years to just over
2,400 inpatients in 2016, research suggests homeless people exhibit high levels of mental health difficulties and may be “over-represented in psychiatric settings”. The research by Dr Sarah Craig and Antoinette Daly from the Health Research Board, along with Prof Eoin O’sullivan from Trinity College, examined admissions to psychiatric inpatient facilities recorded on the National Psychiatric Inpatient Reporting System from 2007 to 2016.
IT’S frightening to think schizophrenia was diagnosed among more than a quarter of homeless patients admitted to psychiatric units over a decade.
These people who are struggling with mental illnesses have in many cases not received the right treatment to begin with and have therefore ended up on the streets.
There must be more research into why so many exhibit such high levels of difficulties in this area.
If this issue was examined in greater depth it might help get to the core reason why they are sleeping rough and instead prevent them from getting into this desperate situation at an earlier stage.
It’s also shocking to see homeless patients were availing of in-patient psychiatric services on more than one occasion.
The homeless situation in this country is currently at breaking point so surely if some time was spent examining why, it would be highly beneficial.
People who are suffering with such mental illnesses should not be living on the streets.
They should be receiving the right treatment and medication to help.
Being homeless is a bad enough predicament to be in on its own without having to deal with a mental illness as well.