‘Auspicious liaisons’—evaluating the impact of a liaison geriatrician initiative on older adults psychiatric wards

Abstract Background Although liaison services in acute hospitals are now the norm, the reverse is not usually available for patients in mental health trusts. Following the introduction of support from geriatricians to older people’s mental health inpatient wards, we wanted to see if this intervention was effective and acceptable to clinicians. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort service evaluation on the impact of a liaison geriatrician, using routinely collected data, and assessed acceptability among medical staff by semi-structured interview. Intervention Our service introduced regular sessions from consultant community geriatricians across older adults psychiatric wards including a mixture of video conference and face-to-face input. Results There was no significant decrease in emergency transfers but there was a significant reduction in length of stay with an associated cost benefit for the service after the introduction of a liaison geriatrician. There was a significant increase in geriatrician consultations and a decrease in specialty consultations to other specialists. There was no change in discharge prescriptions or destination. There was a significant reduction in falls in the intervention arm but not in falls leading to emergency hospital admissions geriatricians gave confidence to psychiatrists of all grades to treat physical health care issues. Conclusions A liaison geriatrician service may be a component in reducing length of stay (although there are many others) and improving continuity of care, although it confers no impact on emergency transfers. The intervention was highly acceptable to clinicians.