Michael Parsonage, Matt Fossey & Carly Tutty
Liaison psychiatry services provide immediate access to specialist mental health support for people being treated for physical health problems, most often in general hospitals and in some cases in the community.
Liaison Psychiatry in the Modern NHS suggests that every NHS hospital should have such a service as standard and that liaison psychiatry services can save an average hospital £5 million a year by reducing the number and length of admissions to beds.
This report sets out the findings of a study commissioned by the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network on behalf of Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Mental Health Leads. It seeks to identify how liaison psychiatry can most effectively contribute to the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) challenge of improving health outcomes while at the same time reducing health care costs.
Audience: Commissioners, local health services, hospitals.
