Needs of carers

that the needs of informal carers are neglected and that this is an under researched area.We conducted a literature search in Mediine (1985-95) and PsycLIT (1990-95) for the terms informal carers and care.We identified 118 main articles.The majority of these concerned informal carers of patients suffering from dementia.There was little information on carers of patients under the care of adult general psychiatrists.We would like to report on our experience of liaising with informal carers of patients within our catchment area of Barnet, in outer London.All carers named by current patients of our sectorised service team (total population circa 50000) were sent a letter inviting them to an initial evening meeting.The meeting was organ ised and chaired under the joint auspices of the local branch of the Carers National Association (Ruth Fitter House.20/25 Glasshouse Yard, London EC lA 4JS) and ourselves.Twenty-three people attended.They wanted to bypass the GP and have 24-hour direct access to the psychiatric team, reasoning that as they (the carers) had noticed a change in their relatives' mental state it might be possible to abort a full blown relapse by early treatment.We are concerned that bypassing the primary care filter would deskill GPs, lead to unnecessary contacts with secondary services, and possibly overload these already stretched services.The carers' group now meets each month, with at least one team member present." Care in the Community" had neglected the needs of carers.Carers need support, advice and respite.Good communication between professional carers and informal carers without breaching medical con fidentiality is important, but difficult to achieve.