Referral rates of general practice registrars for behavioural or mental health conditions in children

Background There is concern about whether general practice registrars gain sufficient exposure to, and confidence in caring for, many paediatric conditions during their apprenticeship training. General practice registrars' referral patterns for paediatric conditions overall or for specific conditions, including behavioural or mental health diagnoses, are unknown. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the relative rates of referral by general practice registrars for children, compared with adults, specifically for those with behavioural or mental health diagnoses. Method A secondary analysis of 83,445 encounters from the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) dataset was undertaken. Results More than half of children (52%) with a behavioural or mental health problem were referred to specialty care, compared with only 23% of adults. For all other conditions, only 9% of children received specialty referral, compared with 12% of adults. Discussion Although a certain proportion of behavioural or mental health issues in children may require either diagnostic assistance or aid in management, it is unclear whether more than half are unable to be cared for by a general practice registrar without referral.