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Processing and assessing psychiatric referrals

Lyndon Resource Centre, Hobs Meadow, Solihull, West Midlands B92 8PW

Alan Lee, Consultant Psychiatrist

University Hospital, Nottingham NG7 2UH

^* Correspondence

Referrals from general practitioners to a sectorised mental health team were audited for time delays and quality over three months. A referrers' guide was then designed to reduce referral delays and improve their quality. This was sent to all GPs. Referrals were again audited over two three month periods. There was no significant difference between corresponding time delays in the three periods. Only one item, the presence or absence of past history, was significantly improved in the third period. These results and their implications are discussed.