Health workers campaigned for better treatment of the mentally ill. They want anti-psychotic medication prescribed only as a last resort for patients.

World Mental Health Day, Friday 10th October, saw campaigners pushing hospital beds through the streets of London in a call for less drugs and more therapy.

At one o'clock a handful of rebellious patients broke out of the psychiatric unit of St Anne's hospital in Tottenham - hot on their heels all the way to Parliament Square were medical staff hell-bent on pacifying the 'crazies' with sugar-coated pills they said would make it all better.

Of course the pyjama-clad runaways weren't really inpatients and nor were their brightly-dressed assailants hospital employees. Rather, a group of mental health workers, psychiatric patients, ex-patients and relatives protesting against what they termed the 'chemical cosh' within mental health services.

Escapee Ana Galvin said: “I'd like to see a complete overhaul of the system. I'd like medication to be the last resort not the first.” Her 29 year old brother, Daniel, died in August of a heart attack she believes was brought on by years of anti-psychotic medication, which prompted also 3 stone weight gain and several epileptic fits.

Andrew Warden, 43, was first diagnosed with schizophrenia ten years ago. He described going to the doctor with a painful swelling on his side: “After I explained my background the doctor said, 'take a course of these (anti-psychotics) and come back to see me in a few weeks'.

“He didn't even look at my side. I stood up to show him but he was already writing out the prescription.” Andrew collected the tablets as instructed. “What could I do? He's the specialist”.

Disappointingly for the bed-pushers, many of whom have been campaigning for years, research showed prescriptions of anti-psychotic drugs increased 20 fold between 2002-7. Scripts for anti-depressants rose by 28 per cent during the same period, despite research conducted by the University of Hull that indicates they don't help most people any more than taking a placebo.

In 2005 The Mental Health Foundation found that 55 per cent of GPs believed talking therapies to be the most effective way to treat depression but 78 per cent prescribe drugs first. In some areas more expensive therapy services are simply not available.

Many who have passionately campaigned against over-prescription of drugs have also argued that GPs automatically prescribe medication to silence those society deems 'insane'.

Clinical psychologist Rufus May who organised Friday's event, said: “Doctors still have a great deal of power and prestige in society and it can be very difficult to challenge that”.

May has been campaigning for an alternative approach to treating people labelled as mentally ill. He explained: “Diagnostic labelling is a way of silencing people, as is prescribing drugs. It oppresses and controls them. I won't give people a diagnosis and I help them not to rely on drugs”.

Slow improvements are being made- in 2007 the government ring-fenced money for an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. It has said that by 2010/11 £170million will be made available to train therapists.

A spokesperson at mental health charity Mind said: “It remains to be seen if this will be enough, but given the current postcode lottery in accessing talking therapies, anything at all is an improvement.”

With daily redundancies announced across private and public sectors alike and everyone worried about a modern world meltdown, a slump in Britain's mental health also looks inevitable.

The link between financial problems and stress is well documented- WHO mental health director Dr Benedetto Saraceno said: "There is a clear evidence that suicide is linked to financial disasters."

Mind have reported that debt-related calls to their helpline have doubled during the past few months, a trend they expect to increase in coming months. In their recent research nine out of ten people say money problems increases anxiety, depression, stress and even suicidal thoughts.

Dr Sacaceno's stated: “Restoration of mental health is not only essential for individual well-being but it is also necessary for economic growth.”

[Correction: In an earlier version of this article University of Hull led research was attributed to The Mental Health Foundation. The MHF was not responsible for this research.]

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