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Controlling the confusion: management of referrals into mental health services for older adults

Robert Colgate has been a consultant in old age psychiatry based at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, South Wales, since 1997 (Princess of Wales Hospital, Coity Road, Bridgend CF31 1RQ, UK. Email: Robert.Colgate{at}bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk). His interests include postgraduate (adult) education and risk assessment and management with an emphasis on the mental health of older adults. Selina Jones has worked as the referral pathway coordinator for older people with mental health problems for Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust since 2003. She qualified as a registered mental health nurse in 1982 and has gained extensive hospital and community experience, for the past 15 years specialising in old age mental health services.

This article describes the establishment of a clinician as a referral coordinator to manage referrals into a typical mental health service for older adults. The referral coordinator model, which include risk assessment at the point of referral and accurate comprehensive collection of referrer data, is compared with other traditional and more recent models of referral management. The importance of thorough collation of clinical information to produce a preliminary risk assessment and the stages of development of an algorithm as a core requirement to guide the coordinator and ensure consistency over time are described. An initial analysis of local referrer data and trends over a period of 3 years is presented to emphasise the educational opportunities offered by taking control of referral management.

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				T. Kuruvilla and D. Alldrick Integrated community mental health teams for older adults: 20 years' experience Advan. Psychiatr. Treat., January 1, 2008; 14(1): 79 - 80. [Full Text] [PDF]

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