Parents' and Clinicians' Perception of Severity of Referral Problems

Background:  Referral meetings are commonly used in CAMH Services to allocate a priority rating that reflects urgency, and thus severity, of the referral. Whilst it is recognised that a system is needed to manage the current level of demand, the literature suggests that decisions about severity are often inaccurate.
Method:  The current study aimed to evaluate a CAMHS referral system by looking at whether the priority ratings allocated by the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) accorded with the parents' and the individual clinician's perception of the severity of the child's difficulties. Data were taken from the Service's outcome database.
Results:  The results showed that priority ratings did not reflect the parents' and the individual clinician's perception of the problem. It is therefore suggested that the current system for prioritising referrals requires some reform.
Conclusion:  There is discussion of procedures that might improve the accuracy of the priority rating process, such as using scores on standardised measures as part of the decision-making process.