A DOCTOR has warned he is struggling to provide the best care for his patients because of poor access to consultant psychiatrists.

Dr James Mather, of New Court Surgery, Malvern, said it is 'near impossible' to get his adult patients seen by a consultant psychiatrist.

The GP claims he is ignored when he specifically requests their help through the Single Point of Access referral form.

He said he has been prompted to speak out after a number of recent 'catastrophes of care'.

Dr Mather, aged 52, of Colwall, said: "I've been doing this job for 22 years.

"The one problem I have got at the moment is the inability to access the opinion and support of consultant psychiatrists.

"Trying to get them [patients] seen by a consultant is near impossible. I think all other GPs locally are having similar problems.

"It seems we have difficulty getting our patients seen by the right person. It means we are struggling to provide the best care for our patients."

Dr Mather said he often requests the opinions of consultant psychiatrists and later finds out that the patient has been referred to the Gateway service, which he described as 'lower tier'.

He emphasised that the Gateway service has skilled mental health workers, such as nurses, therapists and psychologists, but it does not have consultant psychiatrists.

"They [patients] are being sent to the wrong tier," he said.

"Even if I'm stating on the pro forma that I want the patient seen by a psychiatrist that doesn't happen. It's not just the form, this has been going on for several years."

He said psychiatrists are highly trained medical doctors and can prescribe medication - unlike psychologists.

The doctor acknowledged that the NHS is under 'massive pressure locally' but said he wants to have his patients seen by consultant psychiatrists if he requests them.

He added that he contacted the Gazette as he feels his ability to provide the best care for his patients is being hampered by the current system, which restricts access to consultant psychiatrists' opinion.

Dr Mather added that the issue was raise at a Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust locality meeting late last year, but his colleagues were disappointed with the Trust's response.

He claims he asks for the opinion of a consultant psychiatrist in an 'additional information' field on the online Single Point of Access form.

Dr Mather said he refers mental health patients into three services, the child and adolescent mental health services, the mental health team for older adults and the adult community mental health team, but he only has problems with the final service.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said: “We have worked closely with GPs on the development of our mental health pathway and we meet regularly with our Clinical Commissioning Group partners to discuss issues and performance.

"The Single Point of Access was set up to give GPs and other referrers easy and direct access to mental health services for their patients.

"When a referral comes in it is triaged by a qualified clinician who will identify an appropriate level of support which meets the patient’s clinical needs.

"If a GP wants to discuss a patient in more detail then they can either contact the consultants directly or request this via the Single Point of Access and we will respond to any specific requests made as part of the referral.

"It is important that any issues with the Single Point of Access or our triage process are raised through the appropriate channels so they can be looked into properly.”