Outreach programme brings relief to traumatised London bombing survivors

After the 7/7 bombings in 2005 a group of clinical psychologists targeted nearly a thousand survivors of the attacks by painstakingly compiling hospital treatment records, police witness files and referrals from GPs. The need for this new method of reaching potential patients was evident after results showed that only 4% of patients contacted by the programme had been referred for treatment by their GPs ? the traditional pathway to mental heath care. Overall, more than a third of people contacted needed treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Published today in the journal Psychological Medicine , the results of the programme strongly suggest that a similar mental health care programme needs to be included in the standard planning for the aftermath of a terrorist attack. 'If this programme hadn't existed then there would be hundreds of people still suffering from post-traumatic stress or other psychological problems as a result of the 2005 terrorist attack. This intervention is really a new way of identifying traumatised people,? explained Professor Chris Brewin, lead author of the study at UCL Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology. ?Many of the survivors complained that GPs often did not recognise or know how to treat their post-traumatic stress, a finding which is reflected in the literature.