West London NHS Trust’s Hounslow Dementia Liaison Service were celebrating last night as they won the Positive Practice in Mental Health’s National Older People’s Mental Health and Dementia Award, under the category of ‘Initiatives to support older people’s mental health needs in general hospitals’ at an award ceremony in Bristol.
The Dementia Liaison Service is part of the Hounslow Liaison Psychiatry Service, based at Lakeside Mental Health Unit, and West Middlesex University Hospital. The service fills a gap between the acute hospital and community services, where patients’ mental health needs are assessed at the same time as their physical health needs, with follow up visits in the community to ensure a robust handover into the correct community services. The service has reduced readmissions into hospital by ensuring the right care plans are identified and implemented for patients, before being discharged, through joint working with other community services.
Audrey Ng, Consultant Psychiatrist said: “We are delighted to have received this award and that our hard work has been recognised for bridging a gap that had been identified by other professionals, to achieve better outcomes for our patients.”
Sarah Rushton, Director of Local and Specialist Services added: “A well-deserved winner! This is a great example of collaborative working to ensure a more streamlined transition for our older patients from an acute hospital to the community, to ensure that the patients are well supported for both their mental and physical health needs.”
West London NHS Trust is a member of the Positive Practice in Mental Health to enable us to share best practice as well as learning from other member organisations.
