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The attitude of general practitioners in North-West England to patients with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

John Holden
John Holden*
Affiliation:
The Medical Centre, Haydock, St Helens, Lancashire, WA 11 OJN, England
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Abstract

Objectives: The closure of long-stay mental hospitals has led to more patients with psychoses being cared for in the community. Although surveys have been conducted in the London area, little is known about the attitudes of general practitioners in provincial parts of the United Kingdom towards schizophrenic patients and their care.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all general practitioners in the St Helens area in north-west England.

Results: 94 doctors replied, 53% of those circulated. Only a minority consider that such patients cause them a great deal of work. Problems with medication were cited most often as causing difficulties for the general practitioners. Psychiatrists were considered to be the group with whom the general practitioners had the best communication, but also where they wished communication to improve further. Despite the shift towards community care, there was no clear trend in the amount of work created by schizophrenic patients perceived here.

Conclusions: Only a minority of those doctors surveyed found that schizophrenic patients cause them an undue burden of work. Perhaps developments in community based psychiatric services should be directed first at those general practitioners who report excessive problems from patients with long-term mental health problems.

Keywords

SchizophreniaGeneral practitionersAttitudes
Type
Audits
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 65 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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