Psychiatric Liaison and Mental Health

The Liaison Psychiatry team is made up of a multi-disciplinary team trained and experienced in working with people who have mental health problems.

The team is made up of Registered Mental Health Nurses (RMNs), Child and Adolescent Mental Health practitioners (CAMHs), psychiatrist, team leader, matron, support workers and admin support.

The team works within DCH and will see patients in the Emergency Department or on a ward.

What we do

We provide assessment and treatment plans for anyone under the hospital's care that is experiencing any difficulty with their mental health. We will also where appropriate link the person with community teams for follow up.

We work closely with the dementia and substance misuse teams within the hospital. We also work closely with GPs, mental health and social services team in the community.

We also provide support and advice to staff in the hospital that have to care for someone experiencing mental health issues. We are very aware of how challenging certain presentations can be and hope to help you deliver the best person-centred care that is tailor made for the individual. Mental Health is not a one size fits all.

How we can help

When we receive a referral we will need to know the person's name, NHS number (not hospital number), date of birth and what you feel the reason for referral is.

We should respond to ED referrals within four hours and ward referrals within 24 hours.

Our CAMHs practitioners make contact with ED and Kingfisher Ward each morning, and will provide alternative contacts if necessary.

We will obviously endeavour to make contact as soon as is reasonably possible to come and assess the person in need to be able to create a plan for them to be able to move forward.

On occasion we may find that we already know the person and will be able to provide advice and guidance over the telephone.

Our support workers can provide 1:1 therapeutic care to patients after they have been assessed by a nurse in the team, but they do not provide specialist 1:1 for continuous care on the wards. If continuous care is required then it is for the ward to find extra staff or security.

How to contact us

Psychiatric Liaison Team
Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester DT1 2JY

Tel: 01305 254693 

Email: dhc.dorchester.psychliaison.admin@nhs.net

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are unsure, we will always do our best to help.