Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T15:07:53.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Attendance at child psychiatric clinics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. Ubeysekara*
Affiliation:
Brynffynnon Child and Family Centre, Merthyr Road, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan CF37 4DD
N. Cox
Affiliation:
Brynffynnon Child and Family Centre, Merthyr Road, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan CF37 4DD
*
Correspondence
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A study of 41 families who failed to attend their first appointment at a child psychiatric clinic is described. The study was prospective over a period of one year and the families were interviewed personally; 14.9% failed their first appointment. Improvement of the child's symptoms during the waiting period, anxiety about seeing a psychiatrist/social worker, financial difficulties and the invitation to the family to attend were common reasons given for non-attendance. Another important factor was that families were ill-prepared by the referrers.

Type
Original papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Belton, M. & O'Donovan, A. (1993) Local child psychiatric service. Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review and Newsletter, 15(3), 120124.Google Scholar
Cottrell, D., Hill, P., Walk, D., et al (1988) Factors influencing non-attendance at child psychiatry outpatient appointments. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 201204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaffa, T. & Griffin, S. (1990) Does a shorter wait for a first appointment improve the attendance rate in child psychiatry? Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review and Newsletter, 12(2), 911.Google Scholar
Lefebvre, A., Sommerauer, J., Cohen, N., et al (1983) Where did all the ‘no-shows’ go? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 387390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richards, H. (1990) What do they do at the child guidance? Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review and Newsletter, 12(3), 1317.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.