Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 May 2013
In a previous paper auditing individual therapy in the STEPS team, we demonstrated a significant problem with attrition for both CBT and person-centred therapy. We argued that a root-and-branch change to the referral process was needed. This paper looks at the system which replaced it. ‘Callback’ allows self-referral with service users able to leave a phone message at any time. Clinicians call back and carry out a protocol-driven assessment, arranging, where appropriate, services at the end of the call. Reporting on the first 2500 calls, 92% of callers were successfully called back. Individuals were, on average, called back in 8.4 hours. Eighty-six percent of callers were offered an intervention within the STEPS service. They entered these STEPS services, on average, 9.4 days after the initial phone call. Of all callers 15.6% were offered individual therapy. Of these, 93% attended the first appointment and 82% completed a course of treatment. The results suggest that Callback is a significant improvement on the GP-referral system it replaced and provide evidence supporting the utility of ‘multi-level, multi-purpose’ services in primary care.
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