The present state of consultation-liaison activities at St. Luke's International Hospital

Abstract

Consultation-liaison services are used to tackle a diverse range of pathologies in bio-psycho-social models of medicine. The demand for these services is expanding to the clinical, educational, and research fields. Our hospital is a general hospital with approximately 500 beds. Because of the unavailability of beds for psychiatry patients, in the past, we responded to requests for medical treatment through individual liaison performed by a limited number of staff; however, in July 2012, a liaison team was formed for which medical fees apply. As we receive approximately 350 requests for treatment each year, the issue of the lack of manpower persists. However, the system is being refined by the rounds and conferences that are performed each morning. It appears that the team's routine ward rounds lead to more efficient treatment and improved the communication between the other departments and our liaison team. We found that suicide-attempt consultations account for most emergency examinations, which involve issues such as the difficulty of building a treatment relationship within the short hospitalization period and the increasing number of elderly people who attempt suicide. This report summarizes the initiatives mentioned above and examines and discusses issues that became apparent during liaison treatment.