Mental health campaigners have criticised a recently approved trial that will offer patients a financial incentive for taking depot injections of antipsychotic drugs.

Researchers based at the University of London’s Queen Mary College intend to invite 36 outreach teams who care for “difficult to engage” patients to take part in the randomised controlled trial, says the study protocol, published in BMC Psychiatry (2009;9:61, doi:10.1186/1471-244X-9-61). Half of the teams would be allowed to offer a £15 (€16; $24) payment to selected patients who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and who often miss their depot injections. The researchers estimate that there may be only four such people in each team’s group of clients. The remaining control teams would not offer a payment. …