Northumberland Older People’s Psychiatric Liaison Team – Personalised patient information

The Psychiatric Liaison Team provides assessment of mental health, and treatment of any mental health problems, to people attending a general hospital. Although we are employed by the mental health trust and not the general hospital, we work very closely with the general hospital team.

We are mental health professionals: specialist medical doctors (called ‘psychiatrists’), registered mental health nurses, clinical psychologists, other specialist mental health professionals, and administrative staff.

We are based at Wansbeck General Hospital and operate Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm (excluding bank holidays).

The hospitals we cover are:

• Alnwick Infirmary
• Berwick Infirmary
• Blyth Community Hospital
• Haltwhistle War Memorial Hospital
• Hexham General Hospital
• Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH)
• Wansbeck General Hospital

We have been asked to see you by your general hospital team, who remain the team responsible for your overall care.

• Take part in your assessment, so that we can agree with you what needs you may have and how we might help them be met.
• Give permission to us to speak to others (for example, your family).
• Give permission for us to share information with others concerned with your care.

People who know you well, such as your family, can always speak to us; we will listen to them but will not normally share any information with them about you without your consent.

If you require an interpreter, please let your referrer know so that one can be arranged for you.

• You can be seen in a private area, if one is available.
• You can choose whether or not a relative, friend or advocate accompanies you.
• We will encourage you to be involved in decisions about any treatment offered.

• An appointment to see us again, in the near future.
• Information and a choice of possible interventions by agencies that will be able to support any plan agreed with you.

• The plan is written in this leaflet; this may be called a care plan when it is in your medical notes.
• Relevant information you gave to the psychiatric liaison staff will be given to the hospital team looking after you.
• You have the right to receive copies of any letters written to your GP.

Our postal address is:

Psychiatric Liaison Team
Wansbeck General Hospital
Woodhorn Lane
Ashington, NE63 9JJ

Our telephone number is: 01670 529 047

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• Stay Alive
• Headspace
• Clear Fear
• Stayingsafe.net
• www.cntw.nhs.uk/relaxation

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• GP ____________________________________________
• Community Mental Health Team
• Social Workers
• Other useful contacts:

If you want urgent advice from a mental health professional or it is an emergency, then you can contact your Initial Response/Crisis Team at any time, 24 hours a day every day of the year:

• Northumberland and North Tyneside – telephone 0800 652 2861
• Deaf service users can text 07887 625 277

 You can also call NHS 111 and selection option 2 for support in a mental health crisis.

• Anxiety UK: 03444 775 774, Text 07537 416 905  (Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm)

• Age UK: 0800 678 1602 (8am-7pm 365 days a year) www.ageuk.org.uk

• Alzheimer’s Society National Dementia Helpline: 0333 150 3456 www.alzheimers.org.uk

• CALM: 0800 58 58 58 (5pm-midnight 365 days a year)

• Carers Northumberland – https://carersnorthumberland.org.uk/

• Combat Stress (Veterans): 0800 138 1619 (24hr)

• Crisis Text Line: Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 (24hr)

• MIND: 0300 123 3393, (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm)

• North Tyneside Carers’ Centre – https://www.northtynesidecarers.org.uk/

• Samaritans: 116 123 (24hr)

• SANEline: 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm – 10.30pm 365 days a year)

• Silver Line: 0800 470 80 90 (24hr) www.thesilverline.org.uk

• Someone Cares (survivors and supporters of abuse): 0191 257 8094

Northumberland

• Carers Northumberland: 01670 320 025
• Northumberland County Council (Housing): 0345 600 6400
• Northumberland Recovery Partnership: 01670 798 200
• Talking Matters Northumberland: 0300 3030 700
• Social Services: 01670 536 400

North Tyneside

• Cruse Bereavement: 0191 276 5533
• Housing Advice: 0191 643 2520 (Out of Hours 0191 200 6800)
• North Tyneside Carers’ Centre: 0191 249 6840
• North Tyneside Recovery Partnership: 0191 640 0180
• Talking Therapies: 0191 295 2775
• Social Services: 0191 643 2777

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There is a range of patient and carer information on the Trust’s website – www.cntw.nhs.uk/resource-library – which includes information on mental health and wellbeing, information on medicines, side-effects and how to manage them and mental health act information leaflets in 28 languages.

There are also 23 self help guides written by NHS clinical psychologists with contributions from service users and healthcare staff. Titles cover Depression and Low Mood, Stress, Controlling Anger, Panic, Sleeping Problems and Anxiety www.selfhelp.cntw.nhs.uk

We will usually only see you if you have given your explicit consent. Similarly, you are free to opt out of seeing us at any time. Anything you say is treated in strictest confidence and will only be shared with other members of the team and with other people involved in your health care, such as your GP.

Members of the team work within professional Codes of Conduct and follow NHS Policies that ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.  The only exception to this would be if the Team believed that there was a significant risk you would seriously harm yourself or others, or information was obtained about possible harm to vulnerable people such as children.

If you have any concerns at all about confidentiality please speak to any member of the team.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website cntw.nhs.uk/contact/complaints/
• telephone the Complaints Department Tel: 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected] Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.

You can provide feedback in the following ways:

– the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice

– complete a Your Voice survey, available from staff

– other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved ones care.

We act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

North of Tyne

Tel: 0800 032 0202
Email: [email protected]
Post: FREEPOST PALS

South of Tyne
Tel: 0800 328 4397
Text: 07825 061 035
Email: [email protected]
Post: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Garden Lodge, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NB

9am – 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday

An answerphone is available at all times for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

You can also visit https://yourvoice.cntw.nhs.uk/  to access the Your Voice survey online. Please enter the team code NLPLT

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre

Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre

2024 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear

NHS Foundation Trust

Ref, PIC/789/0924 September 2024 V7

www.cntw.nhs.uk  Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2027

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