Future possibilities
The role of the GP in early recognition is akin to his/her role in early presentations of certain cancers. The challenge is to enhance the importance for GPs of early recognition and flagging up of those with key ‘alert’ indicators; supported by different access routes to a specialist assessment and treatment service; in this case a youth-orientated specialist assessment and psychological treatment service.
Perhaps EIS will need a marketing strategy to sell the ‘at risk mental state’ concept to GPs? If so then EIS will need to talk ‘family practice’ and ‘young people with an acute mental health crisis’ to collaborate through some of the strengths of the middle ground of primary care; namely knowledge of the individual before the onset of psychosis; the ongoing relationship between families and primary care and ‘being in it for the long-term’.