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Healthcare professionals are known from previous studies to be at risk from stalkers, and mental healthcare professionals, particularly psychiatrists, are thought to be at higher risk. However, no previous large-scale study has investigated this among psychiatrists. This questionnaire-based survey of 10,429 UK psychiatrists aimed to investigate the prevalence, nature and impact of stalking of UK psychiatrists. Of the 2,585 psychiatrists who submitted valid responses, 21% thought they had been stalked; the experiences of 33% met current legal criteria and 10% met strict research criteria. Three percent of respondents were currently being stalked; 2% reported that their stalking had begun in the past year. Of those who had been stalked, 64% were stalked by patients. The most commonly reported motives were intimacy seeking and resentment. Stalking persisted for over a year for 52% of victims. The stalking was intrusive, disruptive, and had significant impact. Organizational and individual responses varied in scope and effectiveness. Stalking of psychiatrists is therefore an important professional hazard with a serious impact. Improvements in organizational responses to stalking are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with mental health problems are more likely to die prematurely than the general population but no study has examined this in individuals with diabetes.Aims: To compare survival rates in people with diabetes with and without schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.Method: A total of 43,992 people with diabetes were drawn from the QRESEARCH database population of over 9 million patients. Survival rates during the study period, between 1 April 2000 and 1 April 2005, and hazard ratios for deaths associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were adjusted by age and gender and additionally for socioeconomic status, obesity, smoking and use of statins.Results: Among the participants, we identified 257 people diagnosed with schizophrenia, 159 with bipolar disorder and 14 with both conditions. Although crude survival rates did not show significant differences between the groups during the study period, people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and diabetes, compared with those with diabetes alone, had a significantly increased risk of death after adjusting for age and gender, with hazard ratios for schizophrenia of 1.84 (95% CI 1.42-2.40) and for bipolar disorder of 1.51 (95% CI 1.10-2.07). After adjusting for the other factors, hazard ratios were 1.52 (95 CI 1.17-1.97) for schizophrenia and 1.47 (95% CI 1.07-2.02) for bipolar disorder.Conclusions: People with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in addition to diabetes have a relatively higher mortality rate. This suggests that diabetes either progresses more rapidly or is more poorly controlled in these individuals, or that they have higher levels of comorbidity and so are more likely to die of other causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Knowledge about stalking, and in particular the people who do it, is limited in the UK. Aim This study aims to describe a sample of stalkers drawn from the resident population of Broadmoor high security hospital in the UK. Methods Case notes and research database information for 362 consecutive admissions were used to identify stalkers retrospectively. Data were extracted using a stalking behaviour screening checklist. Results A total of 33 patients (9.1%) were classified as stalkers. They were mostly male (28), young (median age 29), unmarried (30), minimally educated and unemployed. Most had psychosis and personality disorder. They had inflicted a wide range of unwanted intrusions and communications on their victims, and both threats (55%) and assaults (45%) were common. The types of stalkers were more or less equally split between intimacy seeking, rejected suitors, resentful and predatory, with only a tiny group being incompetent suitors. Conclusions Although this small group of stalkers had been intrusive and attacking, few had been referred for treatment because of the stalking. The screening questionnaire is easy to use and can be done from records. It may be that such screening should become routine in specialist secure hospitals. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many stalkers suffer from mental disorder, and this may bring them into contact with psychiatrists before their stalking behaviour is identified. This study set out to identify information obtained during a forensic psychiatric assessment which might indicate the presence of stalking behaviours and prompt further assessment. Thus 362 consecutive admissions to Broadmoor Hospital were comprehensively assessed, including an assessment of stalking behaviours. Using both univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression, associations were found between stalking and: committing sexual offences or having a sexual motive for offending; a lack of physical contact with the victim immediately before the index offence; lacking a pattern of theft and other minor acquisitive offences; and, among those who kill, having diminished responsibility. These factors may help in the assessment of patients who might be stalkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Cheshire West has clarified, and broadened, the legal definition of deprivation of liberty, with the new definition reflecting the fact that human rights apply to everyone in the same way. The widely criticised Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards need to be replaced: recommendations for reform are set out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]