Job Description

The Liaison Psychiatry Service provides a 24 hour, 7 day a week in and out of hours comprehensive service to patients, clinicians and carers at the local District General Hospital (DGH). This includes specialist mental health assessment and intervention to people of all ages from the age of 18 who present or, are admitted to the DGH. We provide a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases, and providing both formal and informal education to qualified and unqualified staff, and offer a broad range of specialist psychosocial treatments for individual inpatients. Staff within the service are also representing the Devon Partnership Trust in the general hospital setting and will play a vital role in communicating and maintaining a good working relationship between the two organisations.



Through consultation, assessment and interventions, the Liaison Psychiatry Service aims to - Arrive at a formulation which will identify the correct care pathway and ensure this is implemented Improve the quality of mental health care for all patients Improve quality of life for both patients and carers Identify and manage risk Reduce the length of stay in the general hospital Prevent hospital admissions Reduce the number of incidents and complaints Measure improvements of health outcomes Determine service needs A key aim of the service is to contribute to the acute care pathway, ensuring that those persons who present to the DGH receive a timely specialist mental health assessment by a specialist mental health worker. A significant proportion of these presentations will be those who present with acts of self harm and suicidal behaviours. In Exeter, our service incorporates the following areas: Acute Care Pathway (ACP)Ensuring a timely response to people who attend the Emergency Department and facilitating discharge from the Acute Medical Unit and other wards. InpatientAssessing and reviewing patients who are kept on caseload for a period of monitoring whilst they remain in-patients in the RDUH Eastern wards.



This will include dementia, delirium, depression, eating disorders, psychosis, medication management & support for patient and ward in challenging situations, on-going risk assessment and monitoring. Integrated Psychological Medicine Service (IPMS)Ensuring pathways are in place to allow access to the right treatment at the right time for those who present with both complex physical and psychological needs. There are high rates of mental health problems among people with long-term medical conditions and people with severe mental illness have a reduced life expectancy which can be due to physical health issues. Duties and Responsibilities Communication and Working Relationship Skills Contribute to the team and engage with a wide range of stakeholders including staff, service users, their carers and other statutory and voluntary sector agencies.

Impart complex and sensitive information to:

Patients and families/carers re assessment, care planning, treatment and review Multi disciplinary teams to ensure the provision of consistent well coordinated care Primary care teams regarding client care External agencies also involved in the provision of care eg: voluntary and private sector, police, social services, housing, employment etc Services user and carer groups Liaise with a wide range of other professions and agencies. Contribute to the safe and effective day to day operations of the services including the handling of clinical enquiries. Present information, some of which may be contentious, to patients and their families and carers. Planning and Organisational Skills Attend management and professional meetings as directed by their line manager and professional lead.



Responsible for planning and co-ordinating own day to day work load in collaboration with the needs of the service users and the wider needs of the service. This requires excellent prioritisation skills. Plan and organise case conferences liaising with other agencies as required to meet the needs of their clients. Ensure that interventions are planned in an integrated and co-ordinated manner particularly where dependent on other external agencies.



Analytical and Judgemental Skills Undertake bio-psycho-social assessments, developing a working formulation and diagnosis which will identify onward care pathways. As part of the bio-psycho-social assessment completion of risk assessment and formulation will determine risk management plans. Further assessments/reviews may be required and adjustments made to care pathways where appropriate. Understands and recognises own limitations and seeks supervision when necessary.



Responsibility for Research and Development Participate in research and development in line with service delivery & development. Freedom to Act Work without direct supervision and take accountability for your own actions. When tasks are delegated, ensure that the person you have delegated these tasks to is appropriately skilled to undertake the tasks. Work within the operational policies and service specifications of the team.



Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy Responsible for developing care whilst service users are in the DGH. This will include assessing, planning, intervention and evaluation. Ensuring active involvement of service users and their carers. Triage/prioritise referrals by assessing and advising on eligibility criteria.



Provide specialist advice to referrers/other multi-disciplinary staff in relation to the care of the patient. Participate in safeguarding adults and children. Act in an advisory and collaborative role in interpretation of clinical, professional and technical policies relating to adult mental health. Appraise current practices and standards in light of new research findings and introduce evidence based techniques as appropriate.



Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation Participate in programmes of audit and research within the team and implement the findings. Contribute to professional clinical governance arrangements in order to ensure the quality of the service provided. Participate in the development of Mental Health Services. Work collaboratively on the formulation of, and review of policies, standards, guidelines and procedures within DPT and the DGH.



Attend and participate in relevant groups to include policy implementation, networking , peer review to promote benchmarking and sharing of best practices. Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources Responsible for care of own equipment. Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management Supervision of junior qualified and non-qualified staff.



Provide clinical supervision. Co-ordinate the activity of the team and facilitate handover meetings. Provide mentorship to students allocated to the team. Take a clinical lead in the absence of the team leader / practice lead.



Participate in clinical & managerial supervision as well as annual PDR. Participate in team staff support. Support staff within the DGH to holistically manage people presenting with complex mental health issues and offer appropriate therapeutic interventions. To actively participate in producing and delivering training packages to our colleagues in the DGH and acting as a point of reference as required.



Keep up to date with all Core and Essential Training requirements. Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties Maintain up to date clinical records in a timely and accurate manner in line with standard operating procedures. Any Other Specific Tasks Required The postholder works towards complying with the core competencies for mental health liaison practitioners as described in the Competency Framework for Liaison Mental Health Nursing. Professional Duties Practice in a way that actively minimises dependency and promotes recovery.



Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for service users and carers, working to the principles of the functions policy implementation guidelines and practice in line with the standards and values set out in them. Work co-operatively with staff colleagues within the Acute Hospital, other parts of the mental health services, primary care & other statutory and non-statutory organisations. Ensure a duty of care to your patients and clients, who are entitled to receive safe and competent care. The Service User wishes, feelings, values and beliefs should be taken into consideration as well as the views of the people close to them.



Take personal accountability for your own practice. This means that you are answerable for your actions and omissions, regardless of advice or directions from another professional in accordance with the NMC Professional Code of Conduct.