SOUTH WESTERN DEANERY - South West Peninsula Deanery

POST:
TRAINER:
Liaison Psychiatry
Exeter
Dr Peter Aitken
EMPLOYING TRUST:
Devon Partnership NHS Trust
The Department of Psychological Medicine – Exeter
ST4-6 in Psychological Medicine (Liaison Psychiatry)
Liaison Psychiatry Service
This integrated mental health and wellbeing service will maintain and improve current mental health care
provision to RD&E hospital. All service user presentations to the RD&E that are referred to the service will be
seen and assessed by an integrated clinical team, who can deliver sophisticated assessments and interventions
shaped to the needs of patients of the RD&E, draw on all three functions in any of the Mental Health Networks or
arrange care out of county. The team uses bio-psycho-social assessment, signposting, brief intervention, or
brokerage depending on identified level of need. The team conducts environmental risk assessment &
management, mediation, group and team work, anxiety management, care planning, contingency planning,
education, training, mentoring and medico-legal advice. The team uses a brief intervention tool kit based on
motivational interviewing toward engagement with the care plan, problem solving or CBT based sessions at the
bedside or in outpatient follow up.
The team was commissioned three years ago to provide to adults of working age 0900 – 1700 Monday to Friday.
(The same model of service is offered from the Exeter Crisis Team as the „Hospital At Night Team‟ between
0000 – 0900.The SHO on call service provides from 5pm - midnight) The liaison team provides a service within
one hour to the Emergency Department of the RD&E and a same day service to the 650 in-patient beds on the
Wonford and Heavitree sites. Its performance is measured against 650 assessed annually, admissions avoided,
action against delay to discharge, actions to avoid repeated admission, compliance with the 4 hour wait, suicide
reduction.
Health and Neuropsychology
The service has been developed over many years to meet the psychological needs of inpatients in the RD&E,
and to provide a neuropsychology service to adults with acquired neuro-disability.
The health psychology team uses psychological assessment, brief interventions, short term psychotherapy
(CBT, CAT) and multidisciplinary multimodal group work in outpatients. The team conduct care planning,
education, training, supervision for psychological interventions and leadership of bio-psychosocial group
interventions. The health psychology service is currently provided to specialist services- pain management,
respiratory medicine; cancer care, kidney unit; otolaryngology. The service also provides rapid response to
referrals from any department, where psychological distress impedes medical or surgical treatment.
The neuropsychology service offers psychological assessment; neuropsychological assessments; brief
interventions; neuro-rehabilitation; short term psychotherapy (CBT, CAT) and couple therapy with adjustment
issues in outpatients. The team conduct care planning; coordination of bio-psychosocial intervention and support
packages; education & training; support, coaching and supervision with enablers. The median number of
individual therapy sessions delivered is 6. Integrated multi-professional group sessions up to a maximum of 6.
The service is currently provided to neuro-reablement inpatient and community units, including Mardon.
The health and neuropsychology services are available 0900-1700 Monday to Friday.
Research Innovation and Improvement.
The department of psychological medicine is co-located with the Directorate of Research & Development where
there is an MRC NIHR funded program of research into suicide prevention and harm minimisation from self
harm, a research support service, an innovation group developing novel uses of information management for the
prevention of suicide and harm minimisation, and an improvement (Patient safety) group driving toward safer
mental health services.
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KL/klc/Master Job Descriptions Peninsula Deanery/Updated Feb 2011