News | Mental health

Feature

Clozapine: is it time to relax blood monitoring rules?

Patients taking clozapine, the only recommended drug for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, are required to undergo frequent blood monitoring — a system introduced decades ago following a series of patient deaths. However, new evidence suggests that the stringency of these rules may be causing mor…

Published: 16 July 2025

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Antidepressant discontinuation does not cause severe symptoms in most people, study finds

Researchers found that patients who stopped antidepressants reported discontinuation symptoms that were below the threshold for clinical significance.…

Published: 14 July 2025

Feature

A quest for hope: is endometriosis finally being taken seriously?

Years of underfunding has left women with endometriosis facing long waits for answers, including delayed diagnoses and limited treatment options — but a focus on the disease offers renewed optimism.…

Published: 9 July 2025

Feature

Pharmacy Inside Jobs: ADHD assessment and management

In this episode of Pharmacy Inside Jobs, Gurmat Khangura talks about how he has brought his skills and experience as a pharmacist to his role assessing and managing young people with neurodevelopmental conditions.…

Published: 4 June 2025

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Antidepressants ‘substantially increase risk’ of low blood pressure when standing up in older people, study results suggest

Researchers found that patients aged over 60 years who were prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors were at a four-fold increased risk of postural hypotension in first four weeks of use.…

Published: 21 May 2025

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Repeat prescription opioids most commonly linked to patient harm and deaths, study results show

Researchers found that between January 2019 and December 2023, opioid analgesics made up 76% of the medications mentioned in coroners’ prevention of future deaths reports.…

Published: 6 May 2025

Feature

Lost days: the unstemmed rise in mental health-related absences

There has been a significant rise in sickness absence for mental health reasons among hospital pharmacists in England over the past five years. What needs to change and where can NHS pharmacists access help in the meantime?…

Published: 30 April 2025

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MHRA to review blood monitoring requirements for clozapine patients

Starting in summer 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will seek views on ways to improve awareness of patient risks related to clozapine.…

Published: 28 April 2025

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Coroner writes to ICB following death of patient who took too many of their prescribed drugs

The ‘Prevention of future deaths’ report, published on 16 April 2025, was issued following the death of patient who was waiting for mental health support.…

Published: 24 April 2025

News

Antidepressants added to PCN structured medication review list

From 2025/2026, primary care networks are required to include people using antidepressants for structured medication reviews as part of medicines optimisation processes for “high-risk cohorts”.…

Published: 8 April 2025