Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T12:17:59.040Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Which patients do GPs refer to which professional

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

K. O'Neill-Byrne  and
Sally M. Browning
Sally M. Browning
Affiliation:
Bexley Hospital, Old Bexley Lane, Bexley, Kent DA5 2BW
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Referral rates to three groups of mental health professionals working In primary care were compared. All patients referred over an 18-month period at two health centres in an outer London borough were assessed by case-note review and data were collected on 181 consecutive referrals. In general, younger, more socially-stable patients were referred to the psychologist and older patients were seen by the CPN. The psychologist saw most new patients; patients previously seen by a psychiatrist were most likely to be referred again to a psychiatrist. Patients requesting referral to a mental health professional were most likely to be referred to the psychologist. Patients with a diagnosis of psychosis were seen mainly by the psychiatrist and the CPN; the psychiatrist saw most patients with a personality disorder. A high proportion of patients were seen for assessment only. In general, all interventions were brief. There was evidence of selection by GPs in the referral of patients to each mental health professional.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 20 , Issue 10 , October 1996 , pp. 584 - 587
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Brown, R. M. A., Strathdee, G., Christie-Brown, J. R. W., et al (1988) A comparison of referrals to primary-care and hospital outpatient clinics. British Journal of Psychiatry, 183, 168–173.Google Scholar
Browning, S. M., Ford, M. F., Goddard, C. A., et al (1987) A psychiatric clinic in general practice: a description and comparison with an outpatient clinic. Bulletin of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 11, 114–117.Google Scholar
Farmer, A. E. & Griffiths, H. (1992) Labelling and illness in primary care: comparing factors influencing general practitioners' and psychiatrists' decisions regarding referral to mental illness services. Psychological Medicine, 22, 717–723.Google Scholar
Jackson, G., Gater, R., Goldberg, D., et al (1993) A new community mental health team based in primary care. A description of the service and its effect on service use in the first year. British Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 375–384.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R., Smeeton, N. & Shepherd, M. (1988) Classification of Mental Disorder in Primary Care. Psychological Medicine. Monograph Supplement 12.Google Scholar
Kaeser, A. C. & Cooper, B. (1971) The psychiatric patient, the general practitioner and the outpatient clinic: an operational study and a review. Psychological Medicine, 1, 312–325.Google Scholar
Strathdee, G., King, M. B., Araya, R., et al (1990) A standardised assessment of patients referred to primary care and hospital psychiatry clinics. Psychological Medicine, 20, 219–224.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P. (1984) Psychiatric clinics in general practice: an extension of community care. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 9–14.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P. (1990) The role of the community psychiatric nurse. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 43, 439–442.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, G. (1988) I don't want you to see a psychiatrist British Medical Journal 297, 1144–1145.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.