Unhappy bedfellows. Psychiatric consultation in general practice

Interviews with 20 general practitioners within a five mile radius of a State Psychiatric Clinic in Melbourne, revealed many difficulties associated with the reported increase in social and emotional problems presented by their patients. Most general practices are structured to cope best with the medical aspects of patients' problems. Those problems that are essentially non-medical, create situations where the general practitioner makes decisions in areas not taught to medical students in the past. The directions in which he turns for assistance depend upon a variety of attitudinal factors and the availability of appropriate facilities. An uneasy relationship between many general practitioners, psychiatrists, and psychiatric agencies was noted. A sociological analysis of the results suggests that status and role inconsistencies could be a major factor in some of the problems. This paper aims to stimulate participants towards the resolution of the conflicts.