Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:42:24.444Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reducing non-attendance rates in community psychiatry: a case for sustainable development?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Daniel L. Maughan  and
Michael Pearce
Daniel L. Maughan
Affiliation:
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Oxford, UK, email daniel.maughan@sustainablehealthcare.org.uk
Michael Pearce
Affiliation:
Core Trainee in Psychiatry, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Oxford, UK
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.

Non-attendance at mental health clinics is an international problem. A survey was conducted in the UK investigating communication methods used by staff to inform and remind patients about appointments. Increased number of communication methods used was associated with a reduced non-attendance rate. A care modelling analysis is provided that explores the healthcare use of three hypothetical patients following clinic non-attendance. The financial and environmental costs of each are then calculated and results discussed. Reducing non-attendance is achievable through the use of multiple communication methods. This small change can improve the sustainability of mental healthcare in different countries by improving quality of care and reducing financial and environmental costs.

Type
Thematic papers: Mental health and climate change
Information
BJPsych International , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , May 2015 , pp. 36 - 39
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 © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015

References

Adelufosi, A. O., Ogunwale, A., Adeponle, A. B., et al (2013) Pattern of attendance and predictors of default among Nigerian out patients with schizophrenia. African Journal of Psychiatry, 16, 283–287.Google Scholar
Alnamlah, A. (2006) What is interfering with attendance in adult psychiatric outpatient clinics? Neurosciences, 11, 293–296.Google Scholar
Berners-Lee, M. (2010) How Bad Are Bananas? Profile Books.Google Scholar
Chan, M. (2008) The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health. WHO.Google Scholar
Chung, J. W. & Meltzer, D. O. (2009) Estimate of the carbon footprint of the US health care sector. JAMA, 302, 1970–1972.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, L. (2013) Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2013. Available at http://www.pssru.ac.uk/project-pages/unit-costs/2013/(accessed 9 April 2013).Google Scholar
Killaspy, H., Banerjee, S., King, M., et al (2000) Prospective controlled study of psychiatric out-patient non-attendance. British Journal of Psychiatry, 176, 160–165.Google Scholar
McDermott, B., Cobham, V., Berry, H., et al (2014) Correlates of persisting posttraumatic symptoms in children and adolescents 18 months after a cyclone disaster. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 80–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, A. J. & Selmes, T. (2007) Why don't patients attend their appointments? Maintaining engagement with psychiatric services. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 13, 423–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, E. A. (2000) Effects of discharge planning and compliance with outpatient appointments on readmission rates. Psychiatric Services, 51, 885–889.Google Scholar
NHS England (n.d.) Statistics: quarterly hospital activity data. Available at http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/hospital-activity/quarterly-hospital-activity/qar-data/(accessed 10 April 2014).Google Scholar
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (2008) DNAs – Reducing Did Not Attends. Available at http://www.institute.nhs.uk/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/dnas_-_reducing_did_not_attends.html#sthash.NGZXJiON.dpuf (accessed 10 April 2014).Google Scholar
NHS Sustainable Development Unit (2013) Carbon Footprint Update for NHS in England 2012. Available at http://www.sduhealth.org.uk/documents/Carbon_Footprint_summary_NHS_update_2013.pdf (accessed 28 January 2014).Google Scholar
OBrien, L. V., Berry, H. L., Coleman, C., et al (2014) Drought as a mental health exposure. Environmental Research, 131, 181–187.Google Scholar
Pang, A. H., Tso, S., Ungvari, G. S., et al (1995) An audit study of defaulters of regular psychiatric outpatient appointments in Hong Kong. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 41, 103–107.Google Scholar
Quest (n.d.) Mental Health Pathway Efficiency and Productivity Report. Available at http://www.qihub.scot.nhs.uk/media/266122/mh%20pathway%20efficiency%20and%20productivity%20report%20(2).pdf (accessed 10 April 2014).Google Scholar
Reda, S. & Makhoul, S. (2001) Prompts to encourage appointment attendance for people with serious mental illness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), CD002085.Google Scholar
Rogers, S. (2012) Carbon Emissions of Countries. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2012/jun/21/world-carbon-emissions-league-table-country#data.Google Scholar
Sims, H., Sanghara, H., Hayes, D., et al (2012) Text message reminders of appointments: a pilot intervention at four community mental health clinics in London. Psychiatric Services, 63, 161–168.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.