ABSTRACT
To evaluate the quality of psychiatric care provided to an Arab Industrial Community, the nature of psychiatric disorders in a consecutive series of adult patients referred to Aramco's psychiatric services was investigated. We found that minor psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders constituted the bulk of psychiatric morbidity seen at this, the only available hospital based psychiatric service in comparison to psychiatric morbidity seen at a primary health psychiatric clinic in Jordan. The findings of this study illustrate the pitfalls and shortcomings of hospital psychiatric clinics since they attract patients from a narrow clinical spectrum and subsequently cast doubt upon the comprehensiveness and quality of care provided, the authors suggest that the present system of care should be extended into community psychiatry by setting up GP psychiatric clinics in order to provide care for patients with a wide clinical spectrum of psychiatric disorders