Shared care between specialised psychiatric services and primary care: The experiences and expectations of General Practitioners in Ireland.
Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku Jabbar, Faiza Conway, Catherine
Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku
Jabbar, Faiza
Conway, Catherine
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Date
2012-04-17
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Abstract
Objective. The study aims to explore the views of General Practitioners in Ireland on shared care between specialised psychiatric services and primary care. Method. A self-administered questionnaire was designed and posted to 400 randomly selected General Practitioners working in Ireland. Results. Of the respondents, 189 (94%) reported that they would support a general policy on shared care between primary care and specialised psychiatric services for patients who are stable on their treatment. However, 124 (61.4%) reported that they foresaw difficulties for patients in implementing such a policy including: a concern that primary care is not adequately resourced with allied health professionals to support provision of psychiatric care (113, 53.2%); a concern this would result in increased financial burden on some patients (89, 48.8%); a lack of adequate cooperation between primary care and specialised mental health services (84, 41.8%); a concern that some patients may lack confidence in GP care (55, 27.4%); and that primary care providers are not adequately trained to provide psychiatric care (29, 14.4% ). Conclusion. The majority of GPs in Ireland would support a policy of shared care of psychiatric patients; however they raise significant concerns regarding practical implications of such a policy in Ireland.
Language
en
ISSN
1471-1788
eISSN
ISBN
DOI
10.3109/13651501.2012.667115
PMID
22509780