Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to describe the provision of consultation-liaison psychiatry (CLP, also known as liaison psychiatry) services in acute hospitals in Ireland, and to measure it against recommended resourcing levels.Methods: This is a survey of all acute hospitals in Ireland with Emergency Departments, via an electronic survey sent by email and followed up by telephone calls for missing data. Data were collected on service configuration, activity, and resourcing. Data were collected from CLP or proxy services at all acute hospitals with an Emergency Department in Ireland (n = 29). This study measured staffing and activity levels where available.Results: None of the services met the minimum criteria set out by either national or international guidance per 500 bed general hospital.Conclusions: CLP is a relatively new specialty in Ireland, but there are clear international guidelines about the staffing levels required to run these services safely and effectively. In Ireland, despite clear national guidance on staffing levels, no services are staffed to the levels suggested as the minimum. It is likely that patients in Ireland's acute hospitals have worse outcomes, and hospitals have unnecessary costs, due to this lack. This is the first study of CLP provision in Ireland and demonstrates the resource constraints under which most services work and the heterogeneity of services nationally.
Highlights
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (CLP), known as liaison psychiatry is a subspecialty of adult psychiatry and refers to clinical services which deliver care at the intersection of mental and physical health care
The service provided to people who present following self-harm in Ireland is guided by the National Guidelines of the National Clinical Programme for people presenting to Emergency Departments (ED) following self-harm (NCP-SH), which in addition to providing mental health nursing staffing for EDs, has guidelines on evidence-based practise such as full biopsychosocial assessments for all people who present, the coproduction of an emergency care plan and communication with and bridging to care [2]
We identified which components of CLP services were available typically defined by the part of the hospital covered by that component—for example: ED, ward referrals, links to specialist services, outpatient clinics
Summary
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (CLP), known as liaison psychiatry is a subspecialty of adult psychiatry and refers to clinical services which deliver care at the intersection of mental and physical health care. CLP provides specialist medical expertise of the management of conditions which occur in areas overlapping mental and physical healthcare. This specialty is known variously as liaison psychiatry, psychological medicine, and general hospital psychiatry, [1]. Where a hospital has supra-regional or national programmes which require dedicated psychiatry resources for optimal patient care, such as organ transplantation programmes, neurological services or haematology-oncology hubs, there are often additional CLP resources to support the associated additional complex specialist mental health need associated with these
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
