Now foreign psychiatrists to diagnose Scots children online
‘Improve accessibility’
PSYCHIATRIC care for children could be carried out abroad following a trial that sees youngsters with mental health issues diagnosed online.
A pilot scheme by Scottish researchers has been designed to ease the burden on over-stretched GPs and specialist NHS services that deal with mental health issues including depression and schizophrenia.
It will see patients as young as 11 complete a questionnaire at home. Their parent and teacher will also take the test, the information will be assessed and a diagnosis made by a psychiatrist without seeing the child.
Children under five are also eligible to take part in the Development and Wellbeing Assessment, with their parent or teacher completing the questionnaire.
If the two-year trial, which began in the NHS Highland region on Monday, is successful experts in participating countries including Finland, Norway and Sweden could be brought in to carry some of the caseload, giving diagnosis from overseas.
Professor Philip Wilson, head of Aberdeen’s University’s Centre for Rural Health, which is conducting the trial, said: ‘The current system is inefficient at best and often results in families being sent from pillar to post due to inaccurate or noncomprehensive diagnosis.
‘For a lot of GPs it’s very difficult to know what service a child with mental health issues requires, so this online questionnaire and assessment acts as a sort of triage service.
‘If it is shown to be cost-effective, this could be rolled out to psychiatrists abroad in a similar way to the system with CT scans, where if someone needs to be treated in the middle of the night in Scotland and there isn’t anyone available, the test results are sent to New Zealand to be looked at, and vice versa.’
He added: ‘I agree it is better to get a child in the room with a psychiatrist, but at the moment children aren’t getting that chance due to a lack of resources, so this is designed to improve accessibility.
‘This system is not going to give a definitive diagnosis, but it is 80 to 90 per cent accurate.’
The pilot will see some children given the assessments, while others will be treated using the current system and the two sets of data will be compared.
It is part of a £250million collaboration, funded by the European Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme.
It is hoped the system will result in children or young people being referred to the most appropriate services more quickly and with less stress.
An Aberdeen University spokesman said: ‘The need for child and adolescent psychiatry services in the UK is greater than can be provided.
‘The process of making a successful referral for a child to the appropriate service can be drawn out and stressful and can be particularly damaging for children when their condition requires early treatment.’