Bob Fiddaman has an interesting post about DepressioNet and Sane Australia, two mental health patient advocacy groups with extensive ties to the drug industry. The usual cast of issues, including questionable disclosures of funding, is present.
Other posts surrounding patient advocacy groups and conflicts of interest can be seen here and here.
As if it would be any different in Australia. The biggest problem as I see it from down here at "the arse end of the world" (as a previous Prime Minister described it) is the lack of local user/survivor-driven alternatives. To be fair, there is the Australian Mental Health Consumer Network, which (I believe) is largely Government-funded, but not everyone is prepared to identify as a 'consumer', of course.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, debate about mental health services in Australia tends to centre around the amount of funding they receive, to which 'lapses' in 'service provision' resulting in patient deaths are invariably attributed, and issues such as human rights abuses or the safety and/or efficacy of certain treatments are largely ignored.