Who Cares Wins - Royal College of Psychiatrists

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liaison mental health services. The clinical lead would have a natural connection with other
management structures.
• Consultation-liaison services need informed management and should
have a clinical lead.
Documentation:
4.16 This will need to be clearly laid out in an operational policy. It would be expected that details of
assessments and recommended management be entered into the patients general care notes. If
separate mental health records are kept a similar entry will be needed here.
4.17 It is advisable to send typed letters to the referrer with copies to the older person’s general
practitioner and the mental health notes. This may be at the point of assessment or at the
completion of an episode if the team has prolonged involvement with a case. This provides a clear
record and keeps the primary care team informed of the liaison team’s involvement. To be of
value, communication and correspondence must be prompt. Mental health diagnosis and
management is commonly omitted from general hospital discharge summaries (9).
Policies:
4.18 All consultation-liaison services should have the following:
• Strategic development plan
• Operational policy
• Referral protocol
• Electronic patient database to support audit
And should promote the following:
Facilities:
• Protocols for common situations (for example, dementia, depression, delirium, use of
psychotropic drugs)
• Care pathways for the assessment and management of common conditions
• Assessment and screening instruments
4.19 Liaison teams should be based within the general hospital and will require the following resources:
• Sufficient secretarial and administration support
• Sufficient office space
• Access to clinical databases, email and the Internet
• Telephones, fax machine, photocopier
• Pagers