Mental health in South East London general hospitals: using electronic patient records to explore associations between psychiatric diagnoses and length of stay in a patient cohort receiving liaison psychiatry input

BackgroundPsychiatric illnesses are prevalent in general hospitals and associated with length of stay (LOS). Liaison psychiatry teams provide psychiatric care in acute hospitals and can improve mental health-related outcomes but, to achieve ambitious policy targets, services must understand local need.AimsUsing electronic patient records, we investigate associations between psychiatric diagnoses and LOS in South East London hospitals.MethodPatient records were extracted using the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Biomedical Research Centre Case Register Interactive Search system. There were 6378 admissions seen by liaison psychiatry aged