Child psychiatric consultations in a general hospital.

BACKGROUND

The referral pattern of child psychiatry was reviewed over a period of 3 years. The setting was a local general hospital with in-patient and out-patient adult psychiatric services. The cases studied were from out-patient based services rendered for children.

OBJECTIVE

To draw a comparison between trends of referral from a study conducted locally in 1984 in a child guidance clinic.

METHODS

A questionnaire was used to collect demographic information for children below 16 years. Medical records of patients seen between January 1992 and December 1994 were analysed.

RESULTS

In our study, parental referrals topped the list of source of referrals compared to referrals from school health service in the study conducted in 1984. The conditions commonly seen remained the same, namely mental retardation, neurosis and adjustment reaction.

CONCLUSION

Children were referred according to parent tolerance and acceptance of psychiatric help as well as behaviour.