Correspondence To the Editor Mental Health
Dear Sir, KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS would deny the necessity for more?and possibly better? teaching of psychiatry to medical students; particularly if, as has been suggested, this may result in an increase both quantitive and qualitative in those adopting psychiatry as their speciality. But to a layman this appears to be only a partial solution of the problem of the due application of psychological medicine to the healing of the sick. Should not some means be found whereby those actually engaged in the practice of medicine could be enabled to keep in touch with developments both in psychology and in the total environment of modern man? It is surely clear that if the Mental Health Act is to function satisfactorily a very much greater degree of co-operation must take place between No
one
the three branches of the N.H.S. The problems presented by the two-way traffic as between general practitioner and hospital doctor are not simple; not even as simple as they would be in a completely integrated service but as for a variety of reasons this is not at present within the bounds of practical politics a partial solution should surely be sought. There are observable tendencies which seem to indicate that the problems involved are not entirely insoluble. General practitioners are busy people and to leave a practice for a considerable time presents other difficulties also but with Ministerial blessing on Group Practice and with the slow growth of Health Centres it should be possible for an established G.P. to embark on a really intensive "refresher course" preferably in hospital as well as in the lecture room. From the other angle hospital psychiatrists?out-patient clinics notwithstanding?still tend to be somewhat isolated from those whom they serve and domiciliary visits are not at present a satisfactory substitute. An exchange of personnel on a local and voluntary basis as between general practitioner and hospital doctor might with good will on both sides be arranged and it is not unknown for doctors with experience in general practice to act as locums in psychiatric hospitals. A start could perhaps also be made by an extension of the arrangement adopted in at least one hospital whereby the geriatric wards are in the care of general practitioners with a consultant psychiatrist available in case of need. These are merely tentative suggestions and there must be many others for dealing with what would appear to the writer to be a matter of sufficient importance to merit consideration by the N.A.M.H.
Yours faithfully HELEN M. KEYNES
London,
S.W.7
Dear Sir, KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS would deny the necessity for more?and possibly better? teaching of psychiatry to medical students; particularly if, as has been suggested, this may result in an increase both quantitive and qualitative in those adopting psychiatry as their speciality. But to a layman this appears to be only a partial solution of the problem of the due application of psychological medicine to the healing of the sick. Should not some means be found whereby those actually engaged in the practice of medicine could be enabled to keep in touch with developments both in psychology and in the total environment of modern man? It is surely clear that if the Mental Health Act is to function satisfactorily a very much greater degree of co-operation must take place between No
one
the three branches of the N.H.S. The problems presented by the two-way traffic as between general practitioner and hospital doctor are not simple; not even as simple as they would be in a completely integrated service but as for a variety of reasons this is not at present within the bounds of practical politics a partial solution should surely be sought. There are observable tendencies which seem to indicate that the problems involved are not entirely insoluble. General practitioners are busy people and to leave a practice for a considerable time presents other difficulties also but with Ministerial blessing on Group Practice and with the slow growth of Health Centres it should be possible for an established G.P. to embark on a really intensive "refresher course" preferably in hospital as well as in the lecture room. From the other angle hospital psychiatrists?out-patient clinics notwithstanding?still tend to be somewhat isolated from those whom they serve and domiciliary visits are not at present a satisfactory substitute. An exchange of personnel on a local and voluntary basis as between general practitioner and hospital doctor might with good will on both sides be arranged and it is not unknown for doctors with experience in general practice to act as locums in psychiatric hospitals. A start could perhaps also be made by an extension of the arrangement adopted in at least one hospital whereby the geriatric wards are in the care of general practitioners with a consultant psychiatrist available in case of need. These are merely tentative suggestions and there must be many others for dealing with what would appear to the writer to be a matter of sufficient importance to merit consideration by the N.A.M.H.
Yours faithfully HELEN M. KEYNES
London,
S.W.7
