Psychiatric Liaison Nurse, Older Persons’ Mental Health

Job/Role Summary

I am a mental health liaison nurse working in Older Persons mental health team, I cover both Altnagelvin and Waterside Hospitals. Our hours of work are Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm Our services provide assessments, care planning ,signposting to appropriate services and provide support and education to hospital staff, I work in conjunction with a consultant psychiatrist and all assessments are discussed at weekly team meetings.

Specific qualifications and experience required

Registered Mental Health Nurse

Career Milestones

I have 30 years experience as mental health nurse and have worked in acute adult mental health, older persons mental health both in hospital and community setting.

What attracted you to this job?

I did not apply directly for this post and was redeployed into this position almost seven years ago, however enjoy my post immensely

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

Each day my referrals can be completely different, and I cover both hospitals and can be in totally different clinical environments each person I see has a unique life story and experience. I can see new and challenging cases which is great for personal learning and development.

Challenging aspects of the job/role

The unpredictability of the post can be difficult, I work alone and if several referrals are out-standing time pressure to see people can be difficult, hospital environments can be challenging when trying to communicate with people when there is limited interview rooms for privacy. The pressure to see people due to hospital bed demands can be stressful