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The X-ray Department and Psychiatry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

E. P. Larkin
E. P. Larkin*
Affiliation:
Mapperley Hospital, Porchester Road, Nottingham NG3 6AH
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Summary

All X-rays requested by psychiatrists in-training during 1982 and performed by the Department of Radiology of a large mental hospital were analysed. Forty-five per cent of all requests were marked routine, and the majority of these were for chest X-rays; only 4% of these revealed significant abnormality and no patient under the age of 55 had a significant abnormality on routine chest X-ray. All routine skull X-rays were normal. One-third of the long-stay hospital population accounted for one-quarter of the overall workload of the department. It is recommended that: requests for routine skull X-rays be abandoned, and that routine chest X-rays for patients below the age of 55 be restricted to high-risk groups such as immigrants, those on steroids, etc. The financial implications of such a policy are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 1 , January 1985 , pp. 62 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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