A Review of Referrals of New Patients to the Paediatric Department of a Teaching Hospital during a Six-Month Period in 2004

Abstract

Aims

The aims of this review were to assess the reasons why patients were referred to a specialist dental paediatric unit and the quality of the referral letters received.

Material and Method

All patients referred to the paediatric consultation clinic at the Liverpool University Dental Hospital from January 2004 to July 2004 were included in the review. The reasons for their referral, as stated by the referring practitioners, were compared with the clinical findings from initial assessments in the consultation clinic and the quality of referral letters was assessed.

Results

Ninety-nine out of a total of 102 referrals were from general dental practitioners. Sixty were girls and 42 boys. Their mean age was 9.5 years. The commonest reason (25 patients) was for treatment under general anaesthesia. In 90 (88.2%) cases the main reason for referral stated in the letters was consistent with the findings of the clinical assessment in the consultant clinic. All 102 letters included the patient's name, address, date of birth and telephone number and 89 (87.3%) were dated. However, only 25 (24.5%) included any mention of medical history and fewer than 30% included details of any treatment provided by the referring practitioner.

Conclusions

The vast majority of patients were referred for good reasons. The quality of the referral letters was generally poor. The use of a structured referral pro forma could improve the quality of the referral.