Paediatric liaison

Paediatric liaison is a relationship between two cultures, where mutual learning takes place. Unlike routine community child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) work, this is dedicated exclusively to one set of staff and their patients, both of whom may be said to be the ‘customers’ of the service, which differs from CAMHS in several ways. Patients may on average be younger; they are not always seen by appointment since - even when there is no emergency - opportunistic consultations may be necessary; they may be seen together with a non-mental health professional; a larger proportion of patients will have chronic disease, but many do not, yet are still unlikely to be referred - or to accept a referral - to a CAMHS clinic. Besides direct clinical work the liaison team supports the professional development of paediatric staff, not only in the care of mental disorder, but also in extending their own professional skills. Child and adolescent mental health liaison should be available to all clinical services where children or their parents are seen, including emergency, orthopaedic and burns units, perinatal services, and provide care to children whose parents have serious mental or physical illnesses.