FOI: Liaison Psychiatry Referral Policy

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Dear Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust,

We are a group of clinicians & researchers carrying out a national evaluation of liaison psychiatry service provision in NHS hospitals across England. As part of this project, we are submitting FOI requests to all NHS Mental Health Trusts to ask about local policy and practice. We kindly request the following information as per the FOI Act 2000.

Our enquiries relate to the provision of liaison psychiatry services in adult general hospitals, including patients in inpatient wards or A&E departments. This research is conducted as part of an Academic Foundation Programme research post. No specific grant was awarded for this project. All findings will be de-identified from Hospitals or Trusts before publication.

1. At which general hospital(s) does your Trust provide liaison psychiatry services?

For each of the above hospitals, please answer the questions below:

2. Is there a written policy about prioritising patients who have been referred to liaison psychiatry, or determining which referrals to accept? (If No, please move to Question 6).

3. If so, is this policy made available to all (psychiatry and non-psychiatry) clinicians working within the general hospital? If so, please specify where (e.g. Trust intranet)?

4. Please attach the policy document if possible. We aim to extract only certain information from the policy document, so if the complete policy document cannot be sent, please send the following information:

a. Details on which locations this policy covers and which patients (i.e. inpatient ward/A&E/referrals) the policy covers.

b. Details on any guidelines to prioritise or determine which referrals to accept. Specifically:
i. Patients should be medically fit for discharge prior to review
ii. Patients should be medically fit for assessment prior to review
iii. No restriction applied; all patients are reviewed
iv. Any other methods used to prioritise patient referrals (please specify)

c. Whether the policy states which professional group (e.g. psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse) should review the referral and/or assess the patient? If so, please specify.

d. When was the policy last reviewed or updated?

5. When (if at all) was local practice last audited against this policy and what were the findings?

6. At your Trust, how do doctors refer patients to liaison psychiatry for review (e.g. by telephone, by electronic referral system, by email, by fax)?

Many thanks for your time. Please do not hesitate to get in touch by email if you have any questions or clarifications. We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Dr George Gillett, 
Academic Foundation Programme Doctor
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford 

Dr William Lee, 
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter Medical School.
Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist, Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

Freedom Of Information Requests (LCFT), Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Thank you for your Freedom Of Information (FOI) request - have you looked
for the information on the Trust website, as the information may already
be there?

General website ([1]https://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/) and previously
answered FOI requests that we have published on the website can be found
here ([2]https://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/foi).

 

Your FOI request will be acknowledged and if the request is applicable to
the Trust will be responded to within the legal 20 working day deadline.

 

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Freedom Of Information Requests (LCFT), Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Dear George

Thank you for your enquiry, which will be dealt with as per the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will be sent a response within twenty working days i.e. 10th January 2020.

For all future correspondence please quote the reference shown in the subject line above.
Regards
 
Helen Palmer
Integrated Business Manager
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

T: 01772 695300
E: [email address]
P: Trust HQ | Sceptre Point | Sceptre Way | Walton Summit | Preston | PR5 6AW

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Freedom Of Information Requests (LCFT), Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

3 Attachments

Dear George,

The Trust response can be found in the attached pdf documents.

If you are unhappy with the way the Trust has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review by contacting the FOI Lead at [email address] If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow

Regards
 
Sue Stone
Information Governance Specialist
 
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Phone: 01772 695300
e-mail:  [email address]
post address:   Sceptre Point, Sceptre Way, Walton Summit, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6AW

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