Role and Referral to OPMH Liaison Nurse

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The psychiatric liaison services comprising a mental health nurse and consultant psychiatrist in each sector is responsible for screening the referrals, undertaking the assessments, treatment plan and review of the patient whilst in hospital. The service also provides training and information to staff in the hospital.

The service aims to:

• Provide psychiatric assessment and interventions that promote recovery and well-being in adults over the age of 65 with a functional mental illness, and also all adults with dementia admitted to the general hospital.
• Reduce the length of stay of older adults with mental health problems and people with dementia who have been admitted to the general hospital.
• Provide educational input to staff in the general hospital, promoting prevention strategies, early detection of mental disorder and an understanding of dementia and its consequences.

The referral criteria:

• Patients over 65 presenting with functional mental illness, dementia or complicated delirium.
• Patients under 65 already known to OPMH (generally with dementia diagnoses).
• Patients over 65 already known to adult mental health teams should be seen by their own team.

Referral Management Application (RMA)

From Trust Intranet homepage:

• Click 'useful links' on the left blue menu
• click 'R' on the alphabetic list
• click the link to 'Referral Management Application' (requires username and password)
• In service area, select 'CMHT' from drop down menu
• For location, select 'Hospital Liaison Older Persons Northern Sector '
• Those without access to this system may ring '02871864399' to make a referral.