Evaluating a psychogeriatric domiciliary visit service: views of general practitioners

Comparison of psychogeriatric domiciliary visit service between urban and suburban sectors

This study presents a comparison between the domiciliary consultation services in urban and suburban sectors of the Croydon Health District. Urban general practitioners requested less domiciliary visits (DV) and tended to be less satisfied with this service than their suburban counterparts. Sociodemographic factors such as population density and multi-ethnicity in the urban sector may be responsible for a smaller referral rate and the degree of satisfaction with the psychogeriatric DV service in Croydon.

The practice of geriatrics: specialized geriatric programs and home visits

Home visits have a long history in geriatrics. In this narrative review, the literature on home visits performed by specialists in geriatric medicine (or psychiatry) and/or specialized programs in geriatric medicine (or psychiatry) published between January 1988 and December 2008 was examined. The papers reviewed were few and inconsistent in their message. The lessons that can be derived from them are limited. Draft recommendations about the role of home visiting by specialized geriatric programs in Canada are presented.

Domiciliary clinics I: effects on non-attendance

OBJECTIVE

To compare the rate of non-attendance for new referrals to a hospital based clinic versus home assessment.

SETTING

Two old age psychiatry services in an urban area.

METHOD

A four year prospective study comparing rates of non-attendance for new referrals to a hospital based clinic versus assessment at home in two parallel old age psychiatry services.

RESULTS

The rate of non-attendance for new referrals seen at home was considerably lower (1.7%) than the hospital based clinic (21.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Assessing new outpatient referrals to old age psychiatry services at home reduces non-attendance. This improves efficient use of medical time in a small geographical catchment area but may not apply to rural or larger areas.

Domiciliary visits to the old and the mentally ill: how valuable?

In the early days of the British National Health Service, domiciliary visits were a continuation of the tradition whereby general practitioners (GPs) met consultants in the patient's home. The nature of domiciliary visits, which still attract a special fee, has since changed. We analysed the effectiveness of all domiciliary visits undertaken in a NHS trust providing primary care, mental health and elderly care services to a population of 470,000. Data were obtained from domiciliary visit claim forms and from questionnaires completed by the consultant, the referring GP and consultant peer reviewers. The largest number of visits (total 234) was in geriatric medicine 48.9%, followed by old-age psychiatry 44.9%. Geriatric medicine was more likely than psychiatry to admit patients to hospital (19%) after a visit. All domiciliary visits in old-age psychiatry were done during the day (9 am to 5 pm). Only 2% of GPs stated that they attended any of the domiciliary visits; almost all thought that the outcome of domiciliary visits was of value. Old-age-psychiatry peer reviewers believed that all visits in that specialty were appropriate; in geriatric medicine this figure was 77% and in other psychiatric specialties 65%. The findings indicate that domiciliary visits were not being used routinely as a pathway to hospital admission, though they were often used to expedite admission or gain a quick consultant opinion; the visits were valued by GPs. The practice of domiciliary visits differs greatly from the definition in NHS terms and conditions of service. One or other should be altered.

General practitioners' opinion of a new psychiatry of old age service

Objective: To evaluate the reaction of local general practitioners to a new psychiatry of old age service 10 months following its inception.

Method: An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all GPs in the catchment area of the Service. Questions asked the opinion of GPs on structure and process of the Service, and also asked for suggestions as to how the Service could patients did not have any reservations about being seen by a psychiatrist, but 72% of rural GPs felt the location of the service base (in the city) was a problem.

Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that GPs are reasonably satisfied with the initial service offered by the new specialty. Future service developments must address issues highlighted such as access to the service for patients living outside the city, improving the inpatient facilities for patients with a functional mental illness, and improving communication with GPs.

The relationship between primary care and psychiatry: an opportunity for change

The past two decades have seen the development of a symbiotic relationship between primary care and psychiatric services. The changes which have taken place, however, have been piecemeal and variable in their extent. With some exceptions, they have followed an empirical route, and have come about largely because individual practitioners intuitively felt that they yielded positive results or attractive patterns of working. For the most part, they have not followed the elaboration of a specific theory and although a great deal of subsequent research has been carried out in order to analyse their benefits and limitations, routine practice has been slow to change. The recent reorganization of the health service has yet to exert an appreciable effect on the relationship between the two disciplines. Owing to the newly developing structures and patterns of care, future change is inevitable and brings with it both opportunities and dangers. This paper sets out some of the arguments in favour of a new contract between psychiatry and primary care based on an equal partnership.