Do GPs want community mental health facilities?

Abstract

Much of a typical general practitioner's time is spent dealing with people who present with “psychological” problems. Of those people who are detected as suffering from a mental health problem, most are then dealt with by the GP without recourse to specialist services. There is a wide variation in referral rate, and a recent review (Wilkinson, 1989) suggests that GPs are most likely to refer a patient to a psychiatrist when he/she has failed to respond to previous GP treatment, an opinion about diagnosis is sought, or there is some specific request either by the patient or another person involved. One of the reasons why GPs are disinclined to refer is their perception of stigma associated with attending a psychiatric clinic, although they do not appear to be unduly perturbed by aspects of the referral process itself, such as a waiting list. Overall, it appears that around 95% of patients in general practice presenting with mental distress arenotreferred to a psychiatrist. As well as being concerned about the stigma associated with traditional psychiatric services, we hypothesise that another concern of GPs may be a lack of liaison and consultation between primary and secondary care services.