The domiciliary consultation service: outdated anachronism or essential part of community psychiatric outreach?
This paper describes a retrospective audit of a domiciliary visiting service in adult psychiatry in one district over a six-month period. General practitioners requested urgent assessment visits for three-quarters of the sample population, but were not present when the consultant attended. When the referrals were compared to the official definition of a domiciliary visit, less than a third were considered to fit the criteria. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Guy's Hospital, London.
K
K
Sutherby
S
S
Srinath
G
G
Strathdee
D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006792:House Calls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data