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The Provision of Clinical Psychology Services within a General Hospital: An Analysis and Interpretation of Referral Rates

A semi-structured interview was administered to fifteen hospital based medical and surgical consultants. This aimed to assess the level of knowledge and understanding regarding the activities of clinical psychologists and to evaluate the perception of need for the clinical psychology service within a general hospital in Central Scotland. Differences between high/regular and occasional/non-referring departments were examined. Results indicated that high/regular referring departments displayed a greater level of knowledge and understanding of clinical psychology practice than occasional/non-referring departments. The occasional/non-referring departments demonstrated more cautious attitudes regarding psychological input to the care of patients than high/regular referring departments. This study suggests that lower referral rates were more likely to be a result of generally low levels of awareness and understanding of psychological issues rather than mistrust of psychological methods. This highlights the need for education about the role of clinical psychology in general hospitals and improved communication between the psychology service and other departments in the hospital.