title: Evaluation of welfare advice in primary care: effect on practice workload and prescribing for mental health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine Citizen's Advice Bureaux (CAB) and general practice staff perceptions on the impact of a CAB Health Outreach (CABHO) service on staff workload. To quantify the frequency of mental health issues among patients referred to the CABHO service. To measure any impact of the CABHO service on appointments, referrals and prescribing for mental health.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  GPs and practice managers perceive that welfare rights services, provided by CAB, reduce practice staff workload, but this has not been quantified.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews with practice managers and GPs hosting and CAB staff providing an advisory service in nine general practices. Comparison of frequency of GP and nurse appointments, mental health referrals and prescriptions for hypnotics/anxiolytics and antidepressants issued before and after referral to the CABHO service, obtained from medical records of referred patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most GPs and CAB staff perceived the service reduced practice staff workload, although practice managers were less certain. CAB staff believed that many patients referred to them had mental health issues. Data were obtained for 148/250 referrals of whom 46% may have had a mental health issue. There were statistically significant reductions in the number of GP appointments and prescriptions for hypnotics/anxiolytics during the six months after referral to CABHO compared with six months before. There were also non-significant reductions in nurse appointments and prescriptions for antidepressants, but no change in appointments or referrals for mental health problems. The quantitative findings therefore confirmed perceptions among both CAB and practice staff of reduced workload and in addition suggest that prescribing may be reduced, although further larger-scale studies are required to confirm this.
authors.affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University; and NHS Sefton Primary Care Trust, UK. j.krska@kent.ac.uk
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krska
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalzell-Brown
authors.forename: Pat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nicholl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012946:Social Welfare; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D016526:Workload; D055815:Young Adult