Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T06:33:38.787Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quality of referrals to old age psychiatry following introduction of the single assessment process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Kathleen Ferriter ,
Partha Gangopadhyay ,
Ramin Nilforooshan ,
Mark Ardern  and
James Warner
Kathleen Ferriter
Affiliation:
Central North West London Mental Health Trust
Partha Gangopadhyay
Affiliation:
Central North West London Mental Health Trust
Ramin Nilforooshan
Affiliation:
Central North West London Mental Health Trust
Mark Ardern
Affiliation:
Central North West London Mental Health Trust
James Warner
Affiliation:
Claybrook Centre, Charing Cross Campus, Imperial College, St Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP, email: [email protected]
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.
Aims and Method

We sought to identify changes in the quality of information in referrals to an old age psychiatry service before and after the introduction of the single assessment process. Referrals were compared in terms of length, legibility, information and clinical utility.

Results

Compared with letters before the introduction of the single assessment process, referrals made on the new forms took longer to read (mean 96 v. 124 s, P=0.001), had more illegible sections (P=0.011), contained less information (P=0.026) and were judged to be less clinically useful (P=0.001).

Clinical Implications

The introduction of the single assessment process has impaired clinical communication between general practitioners and psychiatrists, and might be prejudicial to patient care.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 30 , Issue 12 , December 2006 , pp. 452 - 453
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 © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006

References

Cohen, Z. A. (2003) The single assessment process: an opportunity for collaboration or a threat to the profession of occupational therapy? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 201–208.Google Scholar
Department of Health (2001) National Service Framework for Older People. London: Department of Health.Google Scholar
Glasby, J. (2004) Social services and the single assessment process: early warning signs? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 18, 129–136.Google Scholar
Roland, M. & Coulter, A. (1992) Hospital Referrals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Swift, C. G. (2002) The NHS English National Service Framework for Older People: opportunities and risks. Clinical Medicine, 2, 139–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.