Citizens Advice Bureaux in general practice: an illuminative evaluation.

A number of Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) have entered into partnerships with Health Authorities in order to provide advice in general practice surgeries as part of the health care services offered by the primary health care team. This illuminative evaluation has involved an exploration of the impacts of the service from the perspective of its users, the CAB advisers and the referral agents. Data was collected from questionnaires, individual interviews and focus group interviews from participants in both a rural and urban setting. The findings of the study suggest that locating CAB advisers in GP surgeries facilitates access for people who would otherwise be effectively excluded by reason of age, poor health, poverty or lack of transport. Overall, consultations with the CAB advisers were perceived very positively. This study would suggest that Citizens Advice Bureaux in GP surgeries are a viable and useful adjunct to primary health care teams in terms of information-giving, social support, up-take of benefits and co-ordination of services.