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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
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Abstract

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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

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