Patrick McGorry claims that early intervention for psychosis has much better outcomes in terms of return to work and quality of life, but his own data in a Schizophrenia Bulletin paper last year show no significant differences.
Since his appointment as Australian of the Year, Professor Patrick McGorry has established a prominent profile in the media, calling for major mental health reform. It is clear that many people, including the Federal Government, are listening to him…. Under McGorry’s proposed reform, large numbers of “false positives” – young Australians – would be caught by the wide early intervention net and exposed to serious risks from drugs that have not been proven to be effective.
One in six service members is now taking at least one psychiatric drug, according to the Navy Times, with many soldiers taking “drug cocktail” combinations. Soldiers and military healthcare providers told the Military Times that psychiatric drugs are “being prescribed, consumed, shared and traded in combat zones.”
Psychiatric drugs sales generate $80 billion per year with Big Pharma spending $4.7 billion per year on TV and print ads, and $1 billion per year on internet advertising.
As a result the number of people worldwide taking psychiatric drugs has skyrocketed to 100 million (20 million of them children) with documented side effects of worsening depression, mania, psychosis, violence, suicidal and homicidal ideation, diabetes, birth defects, heart attack, stroke and sudden death – to name but a few.
International drug regulatory warnings have increased by 400% in the last 10 years, yet the general public has nowhere to go to find this information online in an easy to search, concise format. Until now.
Children as young as two are being given powerful antipsychotic medications, raising concerns use of the drugs are not being properly monitored and could be putting children at risk of serious side effects. Figures from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing show 559 WA children were given at least one antipsychotic drug subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in 2007-08.