Routine screening for bipolar disorder should be rooted in the National Health Servicealong with specialized training to help identify the condition and cut the average nine-and-a-half-year wait for a diagnosis, experts say.
A report by the Bipolar Commission, which brings together academics and other experts in the field, also recommended appointing a national director of mood disorders to ensure everyone has access to a 12-week psychoeducation course and a specialist doctor to oversee their prescriptions and continuous care.
It is estimated that over 1 million people in the UK have bipolar disorderleading to extreme swings in mood and energy levels far beyond most people’s experiences of feeling happy or a little down.
Yet many spend years chasing a diagnosis or have been misdiagnosed with depression, meaning they can’t access key treatments like lithium and lamotrigine that help stabilize mood.
According to the report, which was based on an 18-month program of interviews, surveys and desk research, many people face a “dangerous” delay in receiving a diagnosis, with an average wait of nine and a half years.
During this time, just over one in three people said they had attempted suicide, while those who were misdiagnosed were also more likely to be hospitalized repeatedly, the report found.
Even once a diagnosis of bipolar disorder is made, the current way most patients are treated, where they are only referred to a psychiatrist if they become seriously ill, is failing, says Professor Guy Goodwin, Emeritus Professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford and co-chair of the commission.
“Psychiatric services care for people when they are seriously ill… but once they recover, people are discharged back to the care of their general practitioner. And that model that we just think doesn’t work,” Goodwin said.
The report called for immediate restructuring to address systemic failures in diagnosing and treating patients, including integrating bipolar screening into GP and hospital-led services and introducing specialized training to increase diagnostic accuracy. . Once diagnosed, all people with bipolar disorder should have access to psychological therapy, as well as a medical specialist to oversee their care.
Simon Kitchen, CEO of Bipolar UK, said: “Continuity of care is the foundation of this model, with strong long-term relationships between individual doctors and patients being a critical factor.
“There are currently not enough specialists in bipolar disorder in the UK, which means symptoms are often overlooked. People living with bipolar have a suicide risk that is 20 times higher than people without bipolar.
“These changes will not only improve the quality of life for over a million people with bipolar disorder in the UK, they will literally save lives.”
