TY - JOUR T1 - Early intervention in psychosis services JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 370 LP - 371 DO - 10.3399/bjgp17X692069 VL - 67 IS - 661 AU - Alice Neale AU - Dan Kinnair Y1 - 2017/08/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/67/661/370.abstract N2 - Early intervention (EI) in psychosis teams were introduced across the UK by the National Service Framework in 1999.1 Patients can access this service in the first episode of psychosis and for up to 3 years thereafter. They offer standard pharmacological antipsychotic therapy, alongside psychological, social, occupational, and educational interventions.EI teams aim to improve short- and long-term outcomes by reducing the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), protecting social support networks, involving families in care, and providing prompt and intensive pharmacological and psychological treatment. There is a wealth of evidence to suggest that the DUP is a strong prognostic indicator. Psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia also have negative and cognitive symptoms that are more difficult to treat, and often develop over time, which again can be avoided by early and assertive management.With hindsight we can often identify a prodromal period for patients with emerging psychosis, but we are not as good at identifying prodromal schizophrenia prospectively. Prodromal psychosis often includes a period of functional impairment, becoming withdrawn, or perhaps doing less well academically, with no clear positive psychotic symptoms. Given that schizophrenia has its peak onset in late adolescence/early adulthood, it can be difficult to distinguish between prodromal schizophrenia and a normal variant of behaviour.2 GPs need to be mindful of prodromal psychosis, especially in at-risk groups (those with a family history of schizophrenia, for example).There is significant variation in EI provision across the UK, and more widely throughout the world. This makes it difficult … ER -