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'Please see and advise': a qualitative study of patients' experiences of psychiatric outpatient care

Morgan, D.G. (1999) 'Please see and advise': a qualitative study of patients' experiences of psychiatric outpatient care. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 34 (8). pp. 442-450. ISSN 0933-7954. (doi:10.1007/s001270050167) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:16940)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001270050167

Abstract

Background: Patient evaluations have become a sensitive indicator of service delivery and the quality of care. In this study they paint to a lack of clarity surrounding the role of outpatient psychiatry in relation to primary care, raising questions about the effective integration of services for patients whose needs straddle the boundaries of primary and specialist care.;Methods: Interviews with a consecutive series of 100 new referrals to two outpatient clinics compared their expectations of treatment with their subsequent experiences of psychiatric care. Patients' perception of progress was compared with clinical assessments. Follow-up interviews explored the reasons why patients tended to lapse from care. Results: The majority of patients (74%) hoped for more effective responses to often long-standing problems which had previously been treated with limited success. In approximately one-third of cases this expectation was met; the remainder reported psychiatric intervention was less than helpful (20%), or were unable to say whether it had helped or not. Most of these patients perceived little difference between psychiatric supervision and treatment offered by their GP. Seemingly impersonal consultations and failure to engage with underlying problems contributed to the high drop-out rate. Conclusion: The findings indicate a relatively poor fit between the role of the outpatient service and the circumstances that commonly lead to psychiatric referral. The implications are considered in relation to alternative options for managing psychosocial problems within primary care.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s001270050167
Subjects: R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: I.T. Ekpo
Date Deposited: 18 Sep 2009 07:08 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:54 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/16940 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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