A psychiatric outreach project to a rural community

In late 1976 the University of British Columbia, working with the provincial health ministry, began an outreach program to rural areas lacking sufficient local psychiatric services. Four teaching hospitals in the province were linked with selected underserved communities to provide both direct service and professional and public education. The psychiatry department of Shaughnessy Hospital in Vancouver was linked with the Dawson Creek community, which had good general health facilities but few specialized services for psychiatric patients. Two psychiatrists began monthly three-day site visits for consultation and education. Staff also provided 24-hour telephone consultation, refresher courses in Vancouver, support for a new psychiatric day care program in the Dawson Creek general hospital, and funding for a temporary psychiatric nurse for the general hospital. Questionnaires completed by local health professionals indicated the project was a success, and that it was of practical value to the professional practice of local physicians, nurses, and social service workers.