The international literature has clearly set out the importance of having an appropriate consultation liaison psychiatry service in a general hospital. There is limited data available on the quality of psychiatric consultations in those areas which are without dedicated liaison psychiatry teams.

To examine the psychiatric work in a general hospital, and to establish a baseline regarding demographics, type of referral, and management of referrals.

To assess the psychiatric needs of the hopsital with a view to introducing improved evidence-based treatments.

All referrals from medical and surgical teams and from the accident and emergency department over a 3 month period were prospectively reviewed. As there is no dedicated liaison service, the referrals are seen by the psychiatric registrar on call. The details were entered in a register and reviewed.

160 referrals were received over the 3 months studied. 90% were from the area served by the psychiatric services based at the psychiatric unit in the hospital. The most common diagnosis was depression (27%). Alcohol was an important factor in 16% overall, and in 26% of referrals from the accident and emergency department.

In the absence of a dedicated liaison psychiatry service, the liaison work is done by the team members of the general adult and psychiatry of older age teams. As 31% of the referrals seen were not deemed urgent by the assessing psychiatrist, there may be a role for a liaison nurse in the triage of referrals to this service.