Physical health care for people with severe mental illness: The role of the general practitioner (GP)

Objectives : Severely mentally ill people have high levels of mortality and physical morbidity. As greater numbers of people with severe mental illness have moved into community accommodation, responsibility for their physical health needs is often unclear. This study investigates whether patients receive better physical health treatment if they attend their GP, a Community Mental Health Team, or both. Design : Five hundred and sixty-six representative annual period prevalence cases of psychotic disorders were ascertained in a case identification exercise in South London and 309 were randomly selected for interview. The information sought included details of their physical health problems, the physical health treatment they received and their pattern of service use. Setting : Two south London community psychiatry catchment areas. Results : Patients who had seen their GP in the previous 6 months were more likely to be satisfied with the amount ( p =0.014) and type ( p =0.16) of service provided for their p...