Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T08:34:55.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integrating mental health and primary care services: a challenge for psychiatric training in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Brenda Wright  and
Vincent Russell
Brenda Wright
Affiliation:
Cluain Mhuire Family Centre, Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin
Vincent Russell
Affiliation:
Cavan-Monaghan Mental Health Services, Department of Psychiatry, Cavan General Hospital, Cavan, Ireland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A Vision for Change, the report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy asserts as one of its key recommendations the enhancement and formalisation of links between specialist mental health services and primary care. As part of a higher training post in psychiatry a consultation-liaison service was provided by a senior registrar in three rural general practices. This paper describes the experience of this initiative from an educational perspective and discusses the broader implications for Irish psychiatric training. With an emerging emphasis on collaborative mental health care there needs to be an appreciation of the specific set of skills that psychiatry trainees must learn in order to be effective in primary care settings. The tandem development of the appropriate services and training in an Irish context will require dedicated funding and resources.

Keywords

Community psychiatrymental health servicesprimary health carefamily practicemedical education
Type
Perspectives
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 2007 , pp. 71 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.A Vision for Change: Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy. Department of Health and Children. Stationery Office. Dublin. 2006.Google Scholar
2.The World Health Report 2001. Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope. World Health Organisation. Geneva, 2001.Google Scholar
3.Primary Care: A New Direction. Department of Health and Children. The Government Stationery Office. Dublin. 2001.Google Scholar
4.Quality and Fairness – A Health System For You. Department of Health and Children. Dublin. The Government Stationery Office. 2001.Google Scholar
5.Copty, M. Mental Health in Primary Care. Dublin: ICGP/SWAHB. 2004.Google Scholar
6.Wright, AF. What a general practitioner can expect from a consultant psychiatrist. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 1997; 3: 25–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Barber, R, Williams, AS. Psychiatrist working in primary care: a survey of general practitioners' attitudes. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1996; 30(2): 278–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Strathdee, G. Psychiatrists in primary care: the general practitioner viewpoint. Family Practice. 1988:5:111–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.De Silva, P, Sutcliffe, A. The future role of general adult psychiatrists. Psychiatr Bull R Coll Psychiatr. 2003; 27: 326–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Gask, L, Croft, J. Methods of working with primary care. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 2000; 6: 442–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Gask, L, Sibbald, B, Creed, F. (1997) Evaluating models of working at the interface between mental health services and primary care. Br J Psychiatry. 1997; 170: 6–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Census 2006 – Preliminary Report. Dublin. The Government Stationery Office. 2006.Google Scholar
13.Russell, V, MacDara, McCauley, MacMahon, J, Casey, S, McCullagh, H, Begley, J. Liaison psychiatry in a rural general practice. Ir J Psychol Med. 2003; 20(2): 65–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Brown, HN, Zinberg, NE. Difficulties in the integration of psychological and medical practices. Am J Psychiatry. 1982; 139: 1576–1580Google ScholarPubMed
15.Lester, H. Shared care for people with mental illness a GP's perspective. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 2005; 11:133–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Kuo, D, Gifford, DR, Stein, MD. Curbside consultation practices and attitudes among primary care physicians and medical subspecialists. JAMA. 1998; 280: 905–909.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Cowley, DS, Katon, W., Veith, RC. Training Psychiatry Residents as Consultants in Primary Care Settings. Acad Psychiatry. 2000; 24(3): 124–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Yudkovsky, R, So You Want to Train Psychiatry Residents in Ambulatory Primary Care Settings: A Primer and Guide for Program Directors. Acad Psychiatry. 2000; 24: 133–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Brown, JSL, Weich, S, Downes-Grainger, E, et al.Attitudes of inner city GPs to shared care for psychiatric patients in the community. Br J Gen Pract. 1999; 49: 643–644.Google Scholar
20.Wulsin, LR. An agenda for primary care psychiatry. Psychosomatics. 1996; 37: 93–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed