Extending the liaison psychiatry service: evaluating the economic impact in emergency department attendances for self-harm
27 February 2017
CLAHRC West has been working with University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust to evaluate the impact of their expansion of the Liaison Psychiatry Service (LPS) on patient management, outcomes and treatment costs for emergency department (ED) attendances for self-harm.
Work by the Bristol Health Partners Improving Care in Self-Harm Health Integration Team (STITCH HIT) contributed to the decision to expand liaison services. More people were presenting at the Bristol Royal Infirmary emergency department in the evenings, especially on weekends, but the liaison psychiatry service only covered normal office hours. Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) made a £250k annual investment to extend the service to 8am to 10pm seven days a week.
Our evaluation looks at improvements in and the timeliness of service delivery, as well as the economic impact of this service extension. We are hoping to publish our findings in the next few months.