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Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Services in Ireland: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

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.

SUBMITTER: Doherty AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8666631 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Services in Ireland: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

Doherty Anne M AM Plunkett Rosie R McEvoy Katherine K Kelleher Eric E Clancy Maurice M Barrett Elizabeth E Greene Elaine E Cassidy Eugene E Lee William W MacHale Siobhan S

Frontiers in psychiatry 20211129

<b>Objective:</b> 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. <b>Methods:</b> 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 wer ...[more]

PMID: 34912252

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Project description:BackgroundConsultation-liaison psychiatry (CLP)-professional psychiatric care provided to coordinate with surgical or medical treatment of inpatients with psychiatric disorders-was included in universal health coverage in Japan in 2012. Despite evidence of benefits of CLP, basic data and geographic distribution information regarding CLP at the national level remain unclear. This study aimed to 1) identify the geographic disparity of CLP in Japan and 2) investigate the association between number of consultations per CLP patient and region.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed anonymized data retrieved from the Japanese administrative inpatient database regarding inpatients who were provided CLP between April 2012 and March 2017. Demographic characteristics were summarized and geographic disparity by prefecture was visualized for fiscal years 2012 and 2016; we also summarized the data according to region. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to investigate association between the number of consultations per CLP patient and region after adjusting for covariates.ResultsData from a total of 46,171 patients who received 138,866 CLP services were included. Results revealed more patients aged 75-84 years received CLPs than any other age group (29.7%) and the overall male/female ratio was 53:47 in 2016. In 2012 and 2016, 24.2 and 30.7% of CLP patients, respectively, were transferred to other hospitals; 9.7 and 8.8%, respectively, discharged due to the death. CLP services were provided in 14 prefectures in 2012 and 33 by 2016; 14 prefectures had no available CLP services. After adjusting for covariates, Tohoku (β = - 0.220, p < 0.034), Chugoku (β = - 0.160, p < 0.026), and Shikoku (β = - 0.555, p < 0.001) had a significant negative correlation with the number of consultations per CLP patient compared with Hokkaido region (an adjusted R square (R2) = 0.274).ConclusionsOur study clarified the characteristics of patients in Japan who received CLPs and the geographic disparity in CLP services. Although 5 years had passed since CLP was introduced, the results imply wide availability of CLP nationally. The analysis data provided may inform future policies to improve CLP services.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic created pressure to implement telepsychiatry across practice models.ObjectiveWe sought to evaluate the overall success of this change and to identify what types of practice settings, provider groups, and patient groups were best served by telepsychiatry and telepsychotherapy utilization. We were particularly interested in how providers of consultation-liaison psychiatry adapted to remote care.MethodsAn anonymous provider survey querying demographics, education, training, technological experience, practice setting, treatment modalities, patient groups, transition process, and outcomes was made openly available via social media and professional listservs. We used multivariable regression modeling to evaluate for predictors of the positive outcomes of overall satisfaction, subjective ability to diagnose and treat patients adequately using exclusively telepsychiatric platforms, and patient satisfaction by proxy.ResultsThree hundred thirty-three respondents, mostly young (59.4% younger than 50 years), female (69.7%), and physicians (67.9%), completed the survey. One hundred ninety-seven (59.1%) worked in consultation-liaison psychiatry. Of the total, 85.9% gave affirmative answers to overall satisfaction. Multivariable linear regression models found that satisfaction was predicted by general comfort with technology (P < 0.001), but negatively correlated with having technical issues (P < 0.001), a priori skepticism (P < 0.001), clinician being male (P = 0.004), and treating LGBTQ+ patients (P = 0.022). Completeness was associated with having training in telehealth (P = 0.039) and general comfort with technology (P < 0.001) but negatively associated with treating LGBTQ+ patients (P = 0.024) or inpatients (P = 0.002). Patient satisfaction by proxy was positively associated with general comfort with technology (P < 0.001) and the respondent being a nonphysician (P = 0.004) and negatively associated with encountering a technical issue (P = 0.013) or treating inpatients (P = 0.045). Consultation-liaison psychiatrists had similar results overall and were more likely to have other staff assist in making televisits effective (mean [standard deviation]: -1.25 [3.57] versus -2.76 [3.27], P < 0.001) especially if consultative (mean [standard deviation]: -0.87 [3.67] versus -2.39 [3.01], P = 0.010).ConclusionsThis study suggests high rates of overall satisfaction in telepsychiatry adoption, even in consultation-liaison psychiatry. There is distinct benefit in bolstering training, providing technical support, and addressing skepticism. Future research should include patient surveys and control groups and should focus on vulnerable populations such as sexual and gender minorities.

Project description:ObjectivesTo describe the current provision of hospital-based liaison psychiatry services in England, and to determine different models of liaison service that are currently operating in England.DesignCross-sectional observational study comprising an electronic survey followed by targeted telephone interviews.SettingAll 179 acute hospitals with an emergency department in England.Participants168 hospitals that had a liaison psychiatry service completed an electronic survey. Telephone interviews were conducted for 57 hospitals that reported specialist liaison services additional to provision for acute care.MeasuresData included the location, service structures and staffing, working practices, relations with other mental health service providers, policies such as response times and funding. Model 2-based clustering was used to characterise the services. Telephone interviews identified the range of additional liaison psychiatry services provided.ResultsMost hospitals (141, 79%) reported a 7-day service responding to acute referrals from the emergency department and wards. However, under half of hospitals had 24 hours access to the service (78, 44%). One-third of hospitals (57, 32%) provided non-acute liaison work including outpatient clinics and links to specialist hospital services. 156 hospitals (87%) had a multidisciplinary service including a psychiatrist and mental health nurses. We derived a four-cluster model of liaison psychiatry using variables resulting from the electronic survey; the salient features of clusters were staffing numbers, especially nursing; provision of rapid response 24 hours 7-day acute services; offering outpatient and other non-acute work, and containing age-specific teams for older adults.ConclusionsThis is the most comprehensive study to date of liaison psychiatry in England and demonstrates the wide availability of such services nationally. Although all services provide an acute assessment function, there is no uniformity about hours of coverage or expectation of response times. Most services were better characterised by the model we developed than by current classification systems for liaison psychiatry.

Project description:BackgroundTo describe the clinical activity patterns and nature of interventions of hospital-based liaison psychiatry services in England.MethodsMulti-site, cross-sectional survey. 18 acute hospitals across England with a liaison psychiatry service. All liaison staff members, at each hospital site, recorded data on each patient they had face to face contact with, over a 7 day period. Data included location of referral, source of referral, main clinical problem, type of liaison intervention employed, staff professional group and grade, referral onto other services, and standard assessment measures.ResultsA total of 1475 face to face contacts from 18 hospitals were included in the analysis, of which approximately half were follow-up reviews. There was considerable variation across sites, related to the volume of Emergency Department (ED) attendances, number of hospital admissions, and work hours of the team but not to the size of the hospital (number of beds). The most common clinical problems were co-morbid physical and psychiatric symptoms, self-harm and cognitive impairment. The main types of intervention delivered were diagnosis/formulation, risk management and advice. There were differences in the type of clinical problems seen by the services between EDs and wards, and also differences between the work conducted by doctors and nurses. Almost half of the contacts were for continuing care, rather than assessment. Eight per cent of all referrals were offered follow up with the LP team, and approximately 37% were referred to community or other services.ConclusionsThe activity of LP services is related to the flow of patients through an acute hospital. In addition to initial assessments, services provide a wide range of differing interventions, with nurses and doctors carrying out distinctly different roles within the team. The results show the volume and diversity of LP work. While much clinical contact is acute and confined to the inpatient episode, the LP service is not defined solely by an assessment and discharge function; cases are often complex and nearly half were referred for follow up including liaison team follow up.

Dataset Information

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Services in Ireland: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

Publications

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Services in Ireland: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

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