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Cityscape Digital for Eric Parry Architects
From depression to dementia, brain and mental illnesses are some of the most pressing issues of our time. Three quarters of mental health problems emerge before the age of 24 and rates of child and adolescent mental health issues are growing. Nearly a million people currently have dementia, with that number expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
My research focuses on psychosis, where new treatments and therapies are desperately needed. People with severe mental illness die 15 years earlier on average, and there have been few new treatments developed since antipsychotics more than 50 years ago. As time goes on, the social and economic costs of this situation, not to mention the personal cost to patients and their families, continue to increase.
Research is absolutely critical to improving outcomes in brain and mental health care. Finding new treatments and approaches that work means that people get well more quickly, and return to their families, communities and jobs. This in turn reduces waiting lists and costs, and builds economic productivity and growth. However, the potential for progress is being held up by poor scientific facilities, a lack of funding and a lack of integration between cutting edge science and clinical practice, all of which we believe Warneford Park will help to change.
Read the full story on the Department of Psychiatry website.