Methadone maintenance treatment: outcomes from the Otago methadone programme.

Aim: To provide information on methadone treatment outcomes for opiate-dependent individuals.

Methods: Questionnaires and random urine tests were completed for 112 Otago clients comparing outcomes before and during methadone maintenance treatment.

Results: Treatment retention rates were high, with 86% of clients remaining on the programme six months or more.

Clinical response to clozapine treatment of 11 chronic patients in a state psychiatric hospital.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical response to clozapine of 11 treatment-resistant patients with schizophrenia. Nine male and two female inpatients of a state psychiatric hospital, with at least a 2-year history of unresponsiveness to adequate trials of at least three antipsychotics and from chemically distinct groups, were challenged with clozapine. Clinical assessment involved baseline and repeated post-baseline ratings using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI), the Nurses Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE-30), and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).

Stories from mental health.

Mental health nursing has always been a particularly challenging area in which to work. Not only in providing quality nursing care for clients who can be unpredictable, demanding and at times aggressive, but also in adjusting to changes in philosophy, focus and even contexts of work. It would be fair to say that mental health services in NSW are in a state of crisis.