Psychiatry in primary care using the three-stage assessment : CME article

The burden imposed by mental illness on local services is immense and cannot be borne exclusively by psychiatrists based in specialist clinics and institutions. To address the massive demands for health services in the country the National Department of Health has adopted a strategy that prioritises a model of integrated district-based primary care. Among the many challenges that have to be confronted when efforts are made to integrate psychiatry into primary care, and one that this paper seeks to address, is the need to develop a model of assessment and treatment that is accessible, yet effective, and responsive to the particular needs of psychiatric patients who access these services.