Andre Tomlin

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André Tomlin is an Information Scientist with 20 years experience working in evidence-based healthcare. He's worked in the NHS, for Oxford University and since 2002 as Managing Director of Minervation Ltd, a consultancy company who do clever digital stuff for charities, universities and the public sector. Most recently André has been the driving force behind the Mental Elf and the National Elf Service; an innovative digital platform that helps professionals keep up to date with simple, clear and engaging summaries of evidence-based research. André is a Trustee at the Centre for Mental Health and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London Division of Psychiatry. He lives in Bristol, surrounded by dogs, elflings and lots of woodland!

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The causes of aggression and violence in psychiatric settings: new systematic review

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Despite what you read in the tabloid press, the vast majority of people with mental health problems are not violent. However, when violence does occur in hospitals, it’s important that healthcare professionals know how to manage the situation. This new systematic review has been conducted by a team of Italian researchers who searched a range [read the full story…]

Diaries kept in intensive care reduce the onset of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after critical illness

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Intensive care patients are at risk of developing anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their recovery. One study shows that 10% of patients who spend more than 48 hours in intensive care will go on to be diagnosed with PTSD (ref 2). This randomised controlled trial conducted by a collaborative team of [read the full story…]

Stimulating group psychosocial activities improve cognition in lonely older people

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Research on loneliness focuses mostly on disorder-specific experiences.

It’s a sad fact of life that as people get older they sometimes find themselves living a lonely lifestyle; cut off from stimulating social networks and all of the activities and benefits that friendships entail. Social exclusion and a lack of frequent interaction may predict impaired cognition in the older members of the population. Researchers [read the full story…]

Number of people held under the Mental Health Act rises by 5%

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people and graphs

New figures from the NHS Information Centre show that the number of people held in detention under the Mental Health Act at 31st March 2011 increased by 5%, from 19,947 in 2009/10 to 20,938 in 2010/11. This is despite the number of formal admissions for treatment and new Community Treatment Orders having fallen since the [read the full story…]

Light therapy may help reduce depression during pregnancy, says small randomised controlled trial

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Depression commonly occurs during pregnancy and it’s often a challenging condition to treat as the health of the mother has to be balanced with the potential risks that can be caused to the foetus by antidepressant drugs. Pilot trials have previously shown that light therapy may be a safe and effective treatment in this population, [read the full story…]

What is the relationship between eating disorders and crystal meth use?

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Epidemiological studies show that 50% of individuals with eating disorders abuse alcohol or illicit drugs, conversely up to 35% of those who abuse substances have eating disorders (ref: CASA report). Little is known about the association between eating disorders and methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth) use. Many methamphetamine users say that they take the [read the full story…]

Depression and Diabetes: a two-way street?

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Depression is often found in people with chronic long-term conditions such as diabetes.  Sometimes this can be a consequence of how the disease affects their lifestyle, difficulties of managing complications and coping with the unrelenting nature of chronic disease. However, there is recent evidence to show that depression is a risk factor for diabetes, partly [read the full story…]

Second generation antidepressants all equally effective in treating social anxiety disorder, according to new systematic review

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Antidepressants for anxiety

With a lifetime prevalence of about 12% and a 12-month prevalence of around 4%, social anxiety disorder is the most prevalent anxiety disorder and one of the most common psychiatric conditions. This systematic review conducted by researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, aimed to assess the effectiveness of different second [read the full story…]

Department of Health publishes draft payment by results guidance

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David Flory, Deputy NHS Chief Executive, issued a letter today which provides information on plans for Payment by Results (PbR) in 2012-13. These plans include an expansion in the scope of PbR into areas such as adult mental health, and a further increase in the coverage of best practice tariffs. He also highlights the publication [read the full story…]

The reasons for alcohol misuse in bipolar disorder: a systematic review

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Alcohol misuse is common in people with mental health problems and the rates of drinking are particularly high in bipolar disorder. Studies show that the lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders is at least 40% in bipolar I patients (ref Cerullo et al). Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK have conducted a systematic review [read the full story…]