Mental illness missed by medics

Severe mental illness diagnoses are being missed by medical staff in more than one in four patients admitted to hospital for other health conditions, research suggests.

Data analysed by scientists at University College London indicates that, among those with previously diagnosed mental illnesses, people from ethnic minority groups more likely to have their condition go unnoticed by clinicians.

But the researchers say their findings, published in Plos Medicine, suggest the situation has improved over the last decade, with data from 2006 showing severe mental illness diagnoses were missed in more than 50 per cent of cases.

Has san Mansour, of UCL Psychiatry, who led the study as par t of his masters degree, said :“When someone is admitted to hospital, it’s important that the medical staff are aware of their other conditions, as these might affect what treatments are best for them, in order to provide holistic care.

“We found encouraging signs that clinicians are more frequently identifying severe mental illnesses in hospital patients than they were a decade ago, but there’s a lot more that can be done, particularly to address disparities between ethnic groups, to ensure that everyone gets the best care available.”

The researchers are calling for better sharing of data between health services to improve diagnosis.