Abstracts

Abstract

Access to general practice and general practitioners by telephone: the patient's view - Lesley Hallam Postal surveys were conducted among samples of patients in four practices to determine accessibility of surgeries and general practitioners by telephone. Over half of the respondents reported being unable to get through to the surgery on their first attempt. Significant differences between practices were related to the number of patients served by each incoming line. **************** Why do general practitioners recognise major depression in one woman patient yet miss it in another? - A T Tylee, P Freeling, S Kerry The aim of this study was to establish whether psychiatric patient characteristics and the presence of physical illness affected general practitioners' recognition of major depressive illness in women patients. **************** Partners or partisans? Patient participation at Marylebone health centre - Patrick Peitroni, H Derek Chase This paper oudines some of the issues which arose for patients and professionals involved in patient participation projects at the Marylebone health centre in London. **************** Impact of previously unrecognised benign prostatic hyperplasia on the daily activities of middle-aged and elderly men - W M Garraway, G B McKelvie, EBAW Russell, M Hehir, RJ Lee, ANC Rogers, GN Collins, RJ Simpson To assess the importance of benign prostatic hyperplasia on activities of daily living, a cross-sectional survey of 1627 men aged 40-79 years (representing a 65% response rate) registered with two health centres in central Scodand was carried out, using a urinary symptom questionnaire and uroflowmetry to identify men more likely to have benign prostatic hyperplasia.