Impact of removing the waiting list upon clinic intakes

This study reports the results of eliminating the waiting list for a one month period in 1985 upon the referrals made to an out-patient Child and Family Clinic. The Clinic receives most of it's referrals from community physicians and agencies. The study was carried out amidst a background of an increasing number of referrals. Fifty-nine referrals, mainly families, were received. Among those who were referred and seen, most (58 percent) accepted the offer of a no wait appointment and completed the referral within about one week. A smaller number (17 percent) did not respond to such an offer but later completed the referral. Thus, 76 percent of the referrals overall were completed within 6 months. This was essentially the same as the completion rate for a comparison sample in 1984 (77 percent). The kinds of problems found among these two groups, as well as among the "non-completers" was analysed. One trend was that cases involving family dysfunction tend to show early or not at all. Overall, the large percentage (60 percent) of families with histories of separation problems as an associated variable, suggested this as a possible explanation for the increasing number of referrals in recent years.