SYNOPSIS
Referral patterns to a community psychiatric service have been correlated with demographic variables relating to the population (120,000) served. The total suburban referral rate correlated significantly with social class composition and general practitioner sensitivity. Diagnosis has been considered in relation to referral rates and the demographic characteristics of individual suburbs. These findings suggest that studies of this sort can play an important part in delineating the mental health problems to which a service is sensitive and in helping to discover areas in the region to which special attention might be paid.