Psychiatrists’ knowledge of novel psychoactive substances

The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of experience and knowledge of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) amongst psychiatrists, asking them to rank NPS against other psychoactive substances in terms of concern and the role they believe NPS play in the diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders.

An online survey was created and emailed to all 217 psychiatrists working for a large city Mental Health Trust.

In total, 108 of 217 psychiatrists responded to the survey. A majority of the respondents believed that their level of knowledge of NPS was inadequate and stated that they would like to receive more training. Half of them either named only one or no NPS that they had encountered within the last five years. There was a correlation between the experience of the respondent and the number of NPS that they could name.

Most of the respondents assessed their own knowledge of NPS as either poor or basic. Psychiatrists’ knowledge of NPS could be improved by having regular NPS-related training, by being sent regular updates on NPS and by including lectures in the Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists courses. Psychiatrists should also be encouraged to access online resources such as NEPTUNE and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

This is the first survey of the UK psychiatrists of their knowledge and experience of NPS.