Chapter 25 - Policy to Practice

Summary

For the last decade of the twentieth and first decade of the twenty-first century, UK liaison psychiatry grew incrementally but patchily. By the time of the first full English national survey in 2014 (1), over 90% of acute hospitals were able to report some form of a consultation-liaison service; the specialty was recognised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists with its own faculty and representation in the postgraduate curriculum. The nature of services varied from rudimentary to highly developed: part-time sessions from a few doctors and nurses to teams with multiple members and functions, and specialist clinics. The biggest services tended to be found in teaching hospitals linked to medical schools. Although it was not being formally monitored, there was a general sense that growth had by this time stalled – not least because government funding cuts had affected mental health and community services, with knock-on effects.