Dean Clinic Referrals Volume
Seven Adult Dean Clinics have been established to date and provide multi-disciplinary mental health assessment and treatment for those who can best be supported and helped within a community setting and provision of continued care for those leaving the hospital’s in-patient services and day-patient services. The Dean Clinics seek to provide a seamless link between Primary Care, Community Mental Health Services, Day Services and Inpatient Care. The clinics encourage and facilitate early intervention which improves outcomes. In 2016, there was a total of 2,068 Adult Dean Clinic referrals received from General Practitioners. This compares with a total of 1886 in 2015, representing an increase of 9.7%.
Dean Clinic Referral Source by Province
The following table illustrates the geographical spread of Dean Clinic Referrals by Province from 2011 to 2016. The highest referral volumes continued to be from Leinster in 2016 with 1320 referrals.
| Year | Leinster | Munster | Connaught | Ulster | Other |
| 2011 | 1053 | 224 | 68 | 11 | 20 |
| 2012 | 1337 | 281 | 107 | 34 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1336 | 317 | 195 | 41 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1503 | 287 | 214 | 43 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1494 | 427 | 257 | 58 | 0 |
| 2016* | 1320 | 444 | 243 | 45 | 16 |
*This refers to Adult Services only. Adolescent Services are reported separately from 2016.
Dean Clinic Referrals by Gender
The gender ratio of Dean Clinic Adult referrals for 2016 was 56% female to 44% male.
Dean Clinic Referrals by Gender
The chart below documents the Common Mental Health Problems referred to the Dean Clinics throughout 2016 and shows Depression & Anxiety as the primary reason for referral.
Dean Clinic Activities (2010-2016)
| Year | No. of Referrals | No. of Assessments |
| 2010 | 692 | 573 |
| 2011 | 1,376 | 924 |
| 2012 | 1,759 | 1,398 |
| 2013 | 1,889 | 1,422* |
| 2014 | 2,047 | 1,287* |
| 2015 | 2,236 | 1,461* |
| 2016 | 2,068** | 1,204** |
| Totals | 12,067 | 8,269 |
2016 was a busy year clinically across all Dean Clinics. The table below summarises the number of referrals and mental health assessments provided across the Dean Clinics since 2010. Not all referrals result in an assessment, there are a number of reasons for this. In some cases a decision is made not to progress with an assessment as the service user is already under the care of another service. Others do not attend their appointments and other service users have a more immediate need and are assessed for possible urgent admission to inpatient care.
* From 2013 onwards, New Assessments include Assessments carried out by Associate Dean Consultant Psychiatrists.
** Excludes Adolescent Assessments from 2016, now reported separately.
A mental health assessment involves a comprehensive evaluation of the referred persons mental state carried out by a Consultant Psychiatrist and other members of the multidisciplinary team. An individual care plan is agreed with the referred person following assessment which may involve follow-on community-based therapy, a referral to a day-patient programme, admission to inpatient care and treatment or referral back to the GP with recommendations for treatment. The assessment process is collaborative and focused on assisting the person to make a full recovery through the most appropriate treatment and care.
The following table summarises the total number of outpatient appointments or visits provided across Dean Clinics nationwide from 2010 to 2016.
Appointments include Assessments, Consultant Reviews, Clinical Nurse Manager II Reviews, Clinical Nurse Specialist reviews, Nurse Reviews, Medication Reviews, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Psychology, Psychotherapy.
| Year | No. of Referrals |
| 2010 | 5,220 |
| 2011 | 7,952 |
| 2012 | 12,177 |
| 2013 | 12,826* |
| 2014 | 13,541* |
| 2015 | 16,142* |
| 2016 | 15,017** |
| Totals | 82,875 |
*Includes Associate Dean Assessment and Adolescent appointments from 2013
** Excludes Adolescent Appointments for 2016, now reported separately.
The table below summarises the number of first time inpatient admissions to SPMHS following a Dean Clinic assessment for the period 2011 to 2016.
| Year | First Admission |
| 2011 | 150 |
| 2012 | 180 |
| 2013 | 225 |
| 2014 | 202 |
| 2015 | 235 |
| 2016 | 132* |
*Excludes Adolescent Admissions from 2016;
Dean Clinic: Outcome of Assessments
The two charts below summarise and compare the treatment decisions recorded in individual care plans following initial assessment in Dean Clinics for 2016 and 2015.