13 June 2008
- Around a 1/3 of GPs’ consultation time is spent on mental health problems*
- No evidence that polyclinics will improve care for mental health patients
The impact of polyclinics on mental health care is unproven and potentially damaging, the Mental Health Foundation warns.
People experiencing mental health problems, for whom a GP is usually the first port of call, account for a 1/3 of GPs’ consultation time.
90% of people with mental health problems receive all their treatment from primary care services**.
There is an urgent need to examine how the proposed shift away from GP surgeries to much larger polyclinics will impact on the primary care of these patients, says the Foundation. Of particular concern is how the loss of the local ‘family GP’ will impact on patients’ willingness to present with mental health symptoms.
The debate over polyclinics has so far focused almost exclusively on how polyclinics will affect physical health care. Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Foundation, said.
“It’s essential that polyclinics have a positive impact on mental health care – at the moment there is little evidence of this, in fact, little evidence that anyone has asked the right questions on the subject. It would be absurd to introduce such sweeping reforms without taking proper account of the needs of such a large proportion of primary care patients.”
Polyclinics are an integral part of the government’s plan to reform primary care services. Their aim is to reduce the need for patients to be referred to hospital-based services and provide a wider range of services in one location.
Such a model would only improve mental health care if much more attention is paid to the basics of service provision, Dr McCulloch said:
“If we’re serious about improving primary mental health care then we can’t assume that polyclinics will provide all the answers. What will make things better for patients is better training for staff and faster access to secondary lines of treatment such as talking therapies. It’s far from clear whether putting services in the same building will in itself help to achieve those things.”
The Mental Health Foundation will be publishing a short policy briefing on the impact of polyclinics on mental health care on the 17th June 2008 to coincide with the parliamentary opposition day debate on polyclinics. The briefing will be available for download at www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Notes to editors:
References
* Together (formerly MACA), National GP Survey of Mental Health in Primary Care, London, 1999
**Sainsbury’s Centre for Mental Health, An Executive Briefing of Primary Care Mental Health Services, 2002
For more information, please contact the press team on 020 7803 1130/28/26.
The Mental Health Foundation uses research and practical projects to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems. We work to influence policy, including government at the highest levels. And we use our knowledge to raise awareness and to help tackle the stigma attached to mental illness. We reach millions of people every year through our media work, information booklets and online services.
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