Telephone counselling in psychiatry.

AIM OF STUDY

To study the description of callers using a telephone helpline to improve support to patients in between appointments.

METHOD

This includes creating a helpline in the department and getting psychiatrists, medical officers, psychologists and social workers trained to man this line during office hours. Information from callers were recorded and analysed using SPSS for MS Windows version 6.0.

RESULTS

The callers were mainly females calling about personal problems, namely psychiatric symptoms and sleep difficulties. Half were given specialist appointments and one-fifth were discharged after telephone counselling.

CONCLUSIONS

Telephone counselling is useful in clarifying medical instructions and supporting psychiatric patients in between outpatient appointments.