mental health

Bringing together physical and mental health
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Psychiatrists in the multidisciplinary team work alongside medical consultants,
junior doctors, ward nurses and others to offer rapid, senior psychiatric opinions.
They can assess suspected mental health, confusion or memory problems, or general
risk. They can give advice about managing behavioural disturbance or on medicolegal
issues regarding capacity and use of the Mental Health Act. They assist with
discharge planning and can facilitate dialogue with mental health services outside
of the acute trust for onward management. In palliative medicine, the service’s
consultant psychiatrists provide assessment and treatment for patients, as well as
training and supervision for palliative care team members.
Psychologists in the team work as members of medical teams, adding a psychological
dimension to patient management. In respiratory medicine, for example, a clinical
health psychologist works with the respiratory team to assess and provide evidencebased
treatment to patients with psychological issues that have a negative impact on
their physical and mental health.
One of the benefits of the service is that it provides an opportunity for team
members to teach and train their physical health care counterparts as they work
closely together. At the time of writing, this mental health training was a trust-wide
requirement for staff in cancer and women’s services.
In addition to the Psychological Medicine Service, a separate Emergency
Department Psychiatric Service assesses patients presenting with psychiatric issues
to the emergency departments at the John Radcliffe and Horton General hospitals.
This service is provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Outcomes
The Oxford Psychological Medicine Service has been in place for two years and
in that time has received highly positive feedback from physicians, surgeons and
nursing staff. Acute care staff greatly appreciate a quick response and diagnosis of
patients’ mental health issues. The value that acute care staff place in the service is
evidenced in the growing number of clinical departments that have commissioned
its input over the past two years. One of its most important perceived impacts is
that it has challenged pervasive stereotypes about mental illness within the acute
care setting, and has helped to change how patients with challenging behaviours
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