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General Practitioner Referrals To an Ambulatory Psychiatric Service. the Effects of Establishing an Ease of Access ServiceLecturer in Psychiatry, National Unit for Psychiatric Research and Development, Lewisham Hospital, and Honorary Senior Registrar, Division of Psychiatry, UMDS, Guy's Hospital
Division of Psychiatry, United Medical and Dental Schools, Guys Hospital
Division of Psychiatry, UMDS, Guy's Hospital The effects of establishing an ease of access 'walk-in' service on General Practitioner referrals to the ambulatory services of a catchment area psychiatric service are outlined. The characteristics of the patients referred are described. GPs made immediate and sustained use of the walk-in service and its creation expanded use of the ambulatory services by an overall 50%. Individual GPs were found to use the ambulatory services disproportionately and to discriminate between their use of the walk-in service and the coexisting traditionally run outpatient clinic. The walk-in ser vice also allowed patients to refer themselves; a policy which did not result in a flood of inappropriate referrals but enabled patients, already familiar with the service, to re-establish contact in times of distress. The findings are discussed in terms of the current growth of Community Mental Health Centres in the United Kingdom and their implications for GP/Psychiatric Service liaison.
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 34, No. 3,
172-183 (1988) |
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