Introduction
This leaflet provides you with information that you will find useful during your stay in hospital and following discharge. If you are not sure about anything in this leaflet, please ask a member of staff.
What is the Mental Health Liaison Team?
We are a team of mental health professionals including specialist medical doctors (called ‘Psychiatrists’), mental health nurses and support workers based in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Being physically unwell can have a negative impact on your mental wellbeing and vice versa, which can affect your recovery. Our team provides timely specialist assessment, treatment, advice and support for people aged 65 and over, experiencing mental health problems, who are attending or admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
What happens during our visit?
A member/ members of the team will visit you in the Emergency Department or on the ward to carry out an initial assessment with you to explore what needs you may have and how we might support you, to address these.
Following the assessment, we will formulate a plan of care with you which may include; further reviews by our team or other professionals, discussion around appropriate treatment or interventions, and arranging follow up care depending on your needs, such as via your GP, specialist community mental health services or an admission to an inpatient mental health ward. We will offer you a written copy of your care plan.
As part of the assessment, we may ask you if we can speak to your relatives/ carers or other professionals involved in your care to gather or share information. Relevant information and advice will be given to the hospital team looking after you to support your care and treatment whilst in hospital.
What treatments/interventions do we offer?
The treatment or interventions provided will depend on what your needs are and we would encourage you to discuss what you think would be helpful to your recovery.
Some of the treatments and interventions include:
- Emotional and psychological support and interventions
- Cognitive Assessment
- Medication review
- Information and Advice
- Personalised care planning
- Risk management and safety planning
- Referral to or signposting to other services
If you or your family/carer wish to speak to us at any time, then please inform the ward staff who are looking after you.
Useful Contacts and Services
| Gateshead Talking Therapies | 0191 283 2541 |
| Recovery Partnership Gateshead (Drug and alcohol service) | 0191 594 7821 |
| Age UK Gateshead | 0191 477 3559 |
| Gateshead Adult Social Care | 0191 433 7033 |
| Gateshead Carers | 0191 490 0121 |
| Silverline (free helpline for older people) | 0800 470 8090 |
| The Samaritans | 116 123 |
If you need urgent advice or support from a mental health professional or it is an emergency, then you can contact your local Initial Response/ Crisis Team at any time, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Newcastle and Gateshead Crisis Team 0191 814 8899 or Freephone 0800 652 2863
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As part of your initial assessment, the team will identify if you have any needs which we are required to support you during the assessment process or on the ward. This could include requiring an interpreter, advocate or access to a chaplain.
Relatives and Carers
People who you know well such as family or carers can speak to us; we will listen to them but will not normally share any information with them about you without your consent. We value information from family and friends to help with assessment and treatment. We will involve your family and friends as much as possible with your permission and aim to support them as much as we can.
Carer’s Assessment
If you care for someone, you can have an assessment to see what might help make your life easier. This is called a carer’s assessment.
It might recommend things like; someone to take over caring so you can take a break, putting you in touch with local support groups so you have people to talk to or advice about benefits for carers.
A carer’s assessment is free and anyone over 18 can ask for one. It’s separate from the needs assessment the person you care for might have, but you can ask to have them both done at the same time.
Contact Gateshead Adult Social Care on 0191 433 7033 (or your local social services at your local council) and ask for a carer’s assessment.
Consent and Confidentiality
We will usually only see you if you have given your explicit consent. You are able to opt out of seeing us at any time. Anything you say is treated with confidence and will only be shared with other members of the team and with other people involved in your healthcare, such as your GP.
Members of the team work within professional Codes of Conduct and follow NHS policies that ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times. The only exception to this would be if the team believed that there was a significant risk you would harm yourself or others, or information was obtained about possible harm to vulnerable people such as children.