title: Shared care between specialised psychiatric services and primary care: the experiences and expectations of General Practitioners in Ireland.
abstract: Objective. The study aims to explore the views of General Practitioners in Ireland on shared care between specialised psychiatric services and primary care. Method. A self-administered questionnaire was designed and posted to 400 randomly selected General Practitioners working in Ireland. Results. Of the respondents, 189 (94%) reported that they would support a general policy on shared care between primary care and specialised psychiatric services for patients who are stable on their treatment. However, 124 (61.4%) reported that they foresaw difficulties for patients in implementing such a policy including: a concern that primary care is not adequately resourced with allied health professionals to support provision of psychiatric care (113, 53.2%); a concern this would result in increased financial burden on some patients (89, 48.8%); a lack of adequate cooperation between primary care and specialised mental health services (84, 41.8%); a concern that some patients may lack confidence in GP care (55, 27.4%); and that primary care providers are not adequately trained to provide psychiatric care (29, 14.4% ). Conclusion. The majority of GPs in Ireland would support a policy of shared care of psychiatric patients; however they raise significant concerns regarding practical implications of such a policy in Ireland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. israelhans@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Vincent Israel Opoku
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Agyapong
authors.forename: Faiza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jabbar
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Conway
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires