ABSTRACT
Two-fifths of the patients who were referred to the social worker presented definite physical complaints to their doctor in their consultation preceding referral and the rest complained either of vague psychosomatic symptoms, had had a psychiatric illness or consulted the doctor about overt social difficulties, without bringing up any other symptoms. As the social worker did not restrict referrals to her and took on all comers, authors assumed that the majority of cases would be referred after assessment to other agencies. Comparing the social worker’s intention with the work she actually did, they found that she had overestimated the number of cases she would be able to refer to other social workers in the community. The referral for social care of patients with chronic and sometimes progressive physical illness showed up gaps in services for the chronically sick and the terminally ill at home.
