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Nurses and other staff at a service that supports patients with mental health problems have received national accreditation for the quality of care they provide.
The mental health liaison team, jointly delivered by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
“This is a wonderful achievement for the team”
Liam Asby
It is accredited for its commitment to meeting the core standards for liaison psychiatry services set by the university. Accreditation network for psychiatric contacts (PLAN).
Based at QEH, the team is available 24/7 and provides clinical mental health assessments, advice and brief interventions to emergency departments, inpatient units and outpatient clinics.
It is part of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King Lynn NHS Foundation Trust’s wider liaison service including Change, Grow, Live (substance abuse) and Learning Disabilities.
Meanwhile, NSFT operates as the specialist mental health provider in West Norfolk. It serves a population of just over 1.6 million people and employs more than 5,000 people.
The mental health liaison team had to go through a rigorous accreditation process, including extensive peer review, the trusts said in a statement.
Team members were also required to gather evidence covering all aspects of the service, from service delivery and structure to staff training and support for families and carers.
The PLAN assessors were particularly impressed with the way the team involved individuals and their families and carers in every step of the process.
They said: “The feedback from patients and carers was very encouraging and highlighted many areas in which staff excel within the service, such as treating everyone with compassion, dignity and respect and providing information during every part of the referral.”
They added: “It is clear that there is a fantastic range of skills within the team across a range of specialisms such as occupational therapy, working with pain management and delivering brief psychological interventions.”
PLAN was established in 2009 to support quality improvement of psychiatric liaison teams in the UK and Ireland.
The accreditation committee is made up of mental health professionals, including mental health nurses, psychiatrists and counselors, as well as service user representatives.
Stephen Monsey-Cribb, clinical team manager at NSFT, said: “This accreditation is important as it recognizes the exceptional quality of care provided to our service users.
“I am particularly proud that the assessors recognized the fantastic skill level of the team, which allows them to work so well to support the needs of service users with compassion, dignity and respect.”
Liam Ashby, lead mental health nurse at the QEH, said: “This is a great achievement for the team and really demonstrates the high standard of care we provide to our patients.”
Liam Ashby and Stephen Monsey-Cribb (centre) with colleagues from the mental health liaison team
Steve Ford
