'Worrying' mental health in deprived area

Incompatible IT systems preventing holistic approach to helping patients, report said

The authors of a university report have called for action to improve primary health care in north and west Belfast after their survey suggested one in three patients showed signs of a psychiatric disorder.

The authors of the Whittington Report, Professor Dorothy Whittington and Kathryn Thompson of the University of Ulster's Primary Care Research Group, said that mental health problems in the areas were 50% higher than the Northern Ireland average.

Their research suggested 33.1% of people (29% of males and 35% of females) in north and west Belfast suffered from psychiatric disorders.

They added that this was twice the UK average, which in turn has one of the highest average levels of psychiatric disorders in Europe.

Professor Whittington said the report underscored the need for "detailed, local assessment of patient need".

"This report confirms what we had suspected about the high levels of disadvantage and related health problems in north and west Belfast.

She described the mental health needs as "unexpectedly and worryingly high".

Conflicting systems

The report's authors were critical of the systems used by health professionals to correlate information on patients.

They said the incompatibility of IT systems used was preventing the creation of a full picture of the problems faced by the north and west Belfast community.

They said: "Conflicting IT systems at GP practice, health trust and health board levels were undermining the accuracy and comparability of patient information, adversely affecting the authorities' ability to plan for the area's future healthcare needs."

Of other health issues faced by the community in the area, 59% of those surveyed said they wanted to get help with coping with stress, 48% wanted to combat depression, 47% wanted help for anxiety and 46% said they needed someone to talk to about their problems.

In terms of general health, 59% wanted help with healthy eating, 57% wanted help with exercise, 43% wanted help to lose weight and 22% wanted to stop smoking.

Following their survey of 1001 patients in north and west Belfast, the report's authors put forward a 12-point plan calling for immediate action to improve primary care in the area.

Their recommendations included:

establish a counselling service,

GPs should improve the provision of advice on diet, exercise, smoking, blood pressure, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, sex and relationships

regular health checks for target groups

GP practices should review the accessibility of their services and opening hours

GPs practices should carry out a comprehensive audit with the health trusts and boards to develop an accurate way of collecting, analysing and giving feedback on patient information.