GPs reluctant to deal with mental health

A quarter of doctors surveyed wanted to cut the hours spent on mental health patients. Of those, 18 per cent had 'no strong interest' in the subject and 17 per cent felt they lacked the right skills and training.

The findings have caused alarm because developments in primary care allow GPs increasing responsibility for mental health.

The national service framework published last week says primary care trusts with a strong track record or robust plans could take on the running of specialist mental health services.

MACA chief executive Gil Hitchon said the government's primary care agenda necessitated an 'urgent agenda for training, supporting and redistributing GPs' increasing mental health workload'.

'It would be a tragedy for vulnerable patients if mental health was sidelined either through a lack of interest, a lack of expertise or a lack of commissioning skills.'

Professor Ray Rowden, former chief executive of the High-Security Psychiatric Services Commissioning Board, said the findings reflected the lack of menta l health training received by medical students.

But it was 'even more important' that the training needs of nurses, health visitors and professions allied to medicine were developed to take advantage of the fact that they were 'best-placed to spot common madness'.

'There are a lot of people out there in the field who feel totally ill-equipped to spot basics like clinical depression or anxiety.'

But Professor Rowden said an increased role for PCTs should improve mental health patients' care.

They would benefit from improved links between primary and secondary care as opposed to 'isolated' specialist trusts.

Dr Edward Peck, director of the Centre for Mental Health Services Development, agreed that PCGs and PCTs were 'part of the solution - not part of the problem' in mental health.

He said secondary care had a role to play in providing adv ice and support to primary care colleagues attempting to develop their mental health skills.

First National GP Survey of Mental Health in Primary Care . MACA, 0171-436 6194. Free.

So little time: what the survey found GPs spent on average 30 per cent of their time on mental health problems.

Half of that time was spent treating anxiety and depression.

34 per cent of GPs want to spend more time on mental health - 24 per cent want to spend less. Of those 24 per cent, 48 per cent were concerned for the knock-on effect on their workload, while 18 per cent had no strong interest.