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Primary care for psychiatric in-patients

Research Officer, The Adelaide Clinic, Ramsay Health Care Mental Health Services South Australia, 33 Park Terrace, Gilberton, South Australia, 5081

Robert Goldney

Professor, The University of Adelaide, Psychiatry Department, The Adelaide Clinic, Gilberton, South Australia

The article by Welthagen et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, May 2004, 28, 167-170), regarding the provision of a primary care service for psychiatric in-patients, was a useful reminder of the importance of addressing physical issues in persons with mental disorders. In Australia, this has been addressed by the Australian Council of Health Care Standards (ACHS), in conjunction with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, who have developed a number of clinical indicators for use in psychiatric hospitals (Australian Council of Health Care Standards, 2003). These include the assessment of whether or not a patient has had a physical examination within 48 hours of admission.

At the Adelaide Clinic, a 64-bed private psychiatric hospital, a nearby group of general practitioners provides a 5 days a week primary care service at the hospital. In 1997–1998 there was compliance with the Clinical Indicator for physical examination within 48 hours of admission in 80% of admissions (Goldney et al, 1998), and this has risen over the past year to 95%. The ACHS provides data for 63 hospitals (both public and private) Australia-wide and the current overall compliance figure for this clinical indicator is 84%.

We note that the service reported by Welthagen et al provided assessment of 22% of patients after a median time of 22 days. Although their service is a step in the right direction, we believe it falls far short of an ideal assessment of the physical status of those with mental disorders.

References

AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF HEALTHCARE STANDARDS (2003) Clinical Indicator Users’ Manual 2004: Mental Health Indicators Version 4. Sydney: ACHS.

GOLDNEY, R., FISHER, L., WALMSLEY, S. (1998) Quality improvement by use of Clinical Indicators in a psychiatric hospital. Australasian Psychiatry, 6, 191-193.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fisher, L. Articles by Goldney, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Fisher, L. Articles by Goldney, R.