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Psychological and social difficulties are common amongst both medical and surgical patients, but psychiatrists are able to see only a very small proportion, and though hospital doctors have the main responsibility for psychological treatment, very little is known of what they actually do. Physicians and surgeons in Oxford answered a questionnaire on their attitudes and clinical practice: virtually all believed that emotional care is important, but what they do and what they would like to do in the assessment, treatment, and referral of their patients varied widely. There were associations with the extent of responsibility for chronic care, speciality, and seniority.
Mayou et al. (1986) studied this question.