PESHAWAR: A UK-based university, in collaboration with Khyber Medical University (KMU), has developed guidelines for the assessment and management of first episode psychosis (FEP) in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Endorsed by Pakistan Psychiatric Society, the initiative is part of `Translate` study led by Prof Saeed Farooq from School of Medicine, Keele University, UK, which focuses on early intervention to improve outcomes in psychosis.

`The guidelines, the first of their kind in Pakistan, have been developed under the `Translate` project translating evi-dence for early intervention in psychosis, Prof Saeed Farooq told Dawn.

Under the programme, early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services will be established in Peshawar, Abbottabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Galle (Sri Lanka), where around 700 patients will be treated.

The guidelines will be applied across the country for early management of psychosis, focusing on assessing suicide risk, treatment adherence, physical health, family support and social factors like unemployment. They are expected to benefit a large number of patients living in low-income countries such as Pakistan, where many people are thought to experience psychosis.

Prof Farooq, a former psychiatrist of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, was awarded UK`s Global Health Professorship by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) last year. He is leading a team including Prof Mian Mukhtiarul Haq Azeemi, Prof M Firaz, Prof Abdul Jalil Khan, Prof Imtiaz Dogar, Prof Aftab Alam, Prof MoeenAnsari, Prof Hazrat Ali and Prof Atula Sumithupala from Sri Lanka.

The project will assess over one year whether early intervention services can improve outcomes for people experiencing psychosis at these sites.

Prof Farooq said that most of Pakistan`s population was young, making early intervention crucial. He said that highincome countries like UK had early intervention services for psychosis, very few such services existed in Pakistan.

He said that those guidelines would go a long way to address the very pressing mental health issue that hadn`t received the desired attention so far. He added that there was a long delay between the appearance of symptoms and receiving treatment in Pakistan, which affected recovery. He added that `Translate` programme was meant to bridge that gap.

As part of the study, a special prediction tool called `Spirit-Plus` is also being developed. This tool will help doctors to quickly find out which patients might not respond well to standard treatments sothat better and faster treatment choices can be made early to improve recovery.

The programme will also build capacity by training clinicians and healthcare workers in managing psychosis and supportingresearch careersforPhDstudents.

Prof Farooq expressed the hope that the initiative would significantly improve psychosis care in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and would later be expanded to other South Asian countries.

Khyber Medical University Vicechancellor Prof Ziaul Haq told Dawn that many research projects were continued to tackle public health issues and help policymakers in formulation of various strategies regarding diseases.

`We in collaboration with foreign medical universities and World Health Organisation are trying to dig out public health issues and offer solution to the same in local context. We are thankful to Prof Farooq and his team for this vital initiative to develop first-ever guidelines for psychosis and ensure management of the cases, he said.