Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T16:22:06.931Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Solo obstetric liaison service

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sue Smith
Sue Smith*
Affiliation:
Sully Hospital, Hayes Road, Sully, Vale of Glamorgan CF64 5YA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Aims and method

To set up a liaison psychiatry service for an obstetric department and review how much of the work involved in such a service can be undertaken by a senior registrar in two special interest sessions.

Results

It was clear there was a demand for a service for women with psychiatric problems associated with childbirth. Referrals from colleagues in general psychiatry meant that the available time was soon used up. This did therefore not allow time to develop efficient systems for referral and management or to then see the extra referrals this would have produced. The limited and temporary service was well received by other professionals and by patients. The number of referrals received fell far short of the expected morbidity.

Clinical implications

In an area with this number of births and its consequent level of psychiatric morbidity, it would not seem possible, within two special interest sessions, to develop a more formalised or comprehensive system.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , January 1999 , pp. 37 - 40
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Appleby, L., Fox, H., Shaw, M., et al (1989) The psychiatrist in the obstetric unit. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 510–515.Google Scholar
Dunsis, A. & Smith, G. C. (1996) Consultation-liaison psychiatry in an obstetric service. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 30, 63–73.Google Scholar
Kendell, R. E. (1997) How psychiatrists can contribute to the public health. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 3, 188–196.Google Scholar
Kendell, R. E., Chalmers, L. & Platz, C. (1987) The epidemiology of puerperal psychosis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 662–673.Google Scholar
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. M. (1984) A prospective study of emotional disorders in childbearing women. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 35–47.Google Scholar
McClelland, R. (1992) Working group on mental health information systems. Psychiatric Bulletin, 16, 522–523.Google Scholar
Oates, M. R. (1994) Postnatal mental illness: ‘Organisation and function of a psychiatric service’. In Aspects of Perinatal Psychiatry: Use and Misuse of the EPDS. London: Gaskell.Google Scholar
O'Hara, M. W., Neunaber, D. J. & Zekoski, E. M. (1984) A prospective study of postnatal depression: prevalence. course and predictive factors. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 158–171.Google Scholar
Pitt, B. (1968) Atypical depression following childbirth. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 1325–1335.Google Scholar
Warner, R., Appleby, L., Whitton, A., et al (1996) Demographic and obstetric risk factors for postnatal psychiatric morbidity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 607–611.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.