Hospital Universitario de La Ribera is launching an innovative programme of early treatment for patients with a first psychotic episode

cannabis use is behind 1 in 3 cases in which the person suffers a psychotic episode, characterized by suffering from delusions, hallucinations, or behavior disorganized.

– according to the specialistsincluded in this therapy patients have up to 20% less income and relapse. Likewise, the programme reduces nearly 50% cases that end up leading to psychosis.

– the incidence of these episodes is situated about 3% of the population, so at the national level more than a million people and reaches 7,500 cases in the comarca of the Ribera.

-of Alzira is one of the first centres in the Valencian Community in having this advanced care program early, which has been endorsed by the prestigious Basque Foundation for research in Mental health.

Alzira, January 2012.- Hospital Universitario de La Ribera has launched an innovative and effective protocol for early treatment for patients who have suffered a first psychotic episode. These cases are mainly characterized by suffering from delusions, hallucinations or disorganized behavior.

According to specialists, the detection and early disorders such care has a direct relationship in the forecast, the evolution and recovery from the disease. For this reason, this early attention from the psychiatry service allows to achieve control of symptoms, enhance adherence to treatment, avoid or deal with stigma and impact psychosocial, and prevent, delay or mitigate the potential impact of mental disorders.

In this regard, experts say that patients included in this therapy have up to 20% less income and relapse. Likewise, the programme reduces nearly 50% cases that end up leading to psychosis.

The incidence of these episodes is situated about 3% of the population, so at the national level more than a million people and reaches 7,500 cases in the comarca of the Ribera.

This early attention Protocol, set up recently and in which you have already included 30 patients, is based on a continuous and comprehensive monitoring involving by equal both patients and family.

In this sense, those people who have suffered a first psychotic episode are included in this comprehensive therapeutic programme with different care lines developed by phases.

Thus, this Protocol, referred to as ‘ first episodes psychotic intervention program ’, characterized by collecting a set of strategies and measures of control over the patient to be able to measure its evolution. The programme provides lines of action in the field of promotion of health (e.g., participation in programmes of integre), personal interviews, weekly assessment of symptoms from accredited internationally, clinical intensity scales approach to strategies behavioral, measurement of symptoms from the clinical scales, regular urine analysis aiming to precociously detect drug use, participation in training activities for labour and social rehabilitation and group assessments with patients.

Experts say that cannabis use is behind 1 in 3 cases and that 3% of people experience at least one psychotic episode throughout his life.

In response to these data of incidence, the health centre of La Ribera has been one of the first hospitals in the Valencian Community to incorporate this advanced therapeutic procedure, which has been previously endorsed by the prestigious Basque Foundation for research in Mental Health (OMIE Foundation) and the University of Deusto.

The value of this care programme lies in its Protocol provides that the patient who has suffered a first psychotic episode maintained a control treatment continued and comprehensive during the three years following the case since, according to experts, this attention attenuates the possible consequences to medium and long term of psychotic illness.

According to the DRA. Teresa Oliver, psychiatrist of the Hospital Universitario de La Ribera and coordinator of this programme, by this Protocol of screening and early boarding shall prevent relapse and achieve support and family collaboration, which promotes the rehabilitation with training and occupational activities, reducing the impact of trauma and stigma ”.