Need for Child Mental Health Consultation and Paediatricians' Perception of these Services: A Survey in the West Midlands.

Abstract

High rates of psychopathology have been noted in children presenting to GP surgeries and paediatricians. However, paediatricians do not always recognise this and when they do the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is often unable to meet their consultation needs. This postal survey looked at paediatricians' perception of the need for child psychiatry consultation in the West Midlands. The survey confirmed that paediatricians see a significant proportion of children with mental health problems and the findings showed that their need for child psychiatry consultation was not being adequately met. Lack of access to CAMHS was a significant issue. This has implications not only for further development of consultation services within CAMHS but also for improving training in child psychiatry for paediatricians in a more formalised way.