Patients with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) experience neurological symptoms which may impair motor control, sensory function, or awareness. Long waiting lists before treatment mean the risk of relapse during this period is high. A lack of knowledge around FND also results in a lower quality of life. Therefore, it is important patients with FND receive appropriate psychoeducation to empower them to understand and manage their symptoms. We aimed to strengthen our symptom self-management booklet for patients in a community neuropsychiatry setting, using a co-production model and taking forward improvements into a digital audiovisual format.

We used co-production as part of a quality improvement project (QIP) at East Kent Neuropsychiatry Service to identify improvements to our existing symptom self-management booklet and apply these in the production of a digital resource. Initially, the symptom self-management booklet was distributed to 10 patients, awaiting further assessment and treatment, chosen by the multidisciplinary team following triage appointments. Two weeks later, 7 patients reviewed the booklet with 4 medical students by phone and qualitative and quantitative feedback was obtained from patients and carers. Quantitative feedback was collected using an adapted 20-point Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) tool. Informed by this feedback, scripts were developed for the audiovisual resource. The scripts were further reviewed by a medical student, 2 multidisciplinary team members and 3 Trust Communications Department members.

The first QIP cycle highlighted the importance of the symptom self-management booklet. Most patients had used the booklet. Patients found it a helpful source of information. Two patients noticed a considerable improvement in their quality of life, others did not due to the short length of booklet use. . EQIP tool demonstrated an improved score of 80.51% compared to previous round of feedback (53.33%). Carers identified the booklet as reassuring. Additional links to external information was identified as an area for development.

Patient feedback informed the development of scripts for the audiovisual resource. Consultation with the Trust Communications Department identified three themes of improvement: accessibility to patients, increased clarity and concise language, and an appropriate visual format, therefore scripts were further refined.

Our QIP shows the value of a psychoeducation and symptom self-management tool for FND patients which was positively received by patients and carers. Collaborating with patients in the digitalisation of this information allows for a more accessible resource which effectively addresses patient concerns and empowers symptom self-management.

Following the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the introduction of an off-site Crisis Hub, has there been a change in presentation to the Emergency Department (ED) with suicidality in the absence of self-harm?

Patients referred to the Liaison Psychiatry Service (LPS) from the ED at the Royal Cornwall Hospital with suicidal threat over a two-month period were identified in 2019 (pre-pandemic and the creation of the Crisis Hub), 2021 and 2022 (post pandemic and Crisis Hub implementation).

Demographic data for each attendance were recorded: age and gender, mode of arrival/route of referral and outcome of assessment.

The number of attendances has decreased since 2019 (87 in 2019, 71 in 2021 and 53 in 2022). This is on the backdrop of decreasing total departmental attendances and a fall in the proportion referred to LPS: 541 in 2019, 3.84% of the total ED attendances, 510 in 2021, 4.32% of the total ED attendances and 400, 3.7% of the total ED attendances in 2022.

The proportion arriving under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (MHA), is also increasing: 0% in 2019, but 15.5% in 2021, and 13.8% in 2022. This corresponds to an increasing proportion taken from the ED by the police to another Place of Safety.

A small proportion of those attending were considered suitable to be assessed at the Crisis Hub and were subsequently taken there (5% in 2021 and 3% in 2022). The most common reason to reject referral to the Crisis Hub was recent alcohol consumption.

The proportion requiring admission varied: 3.4% in 2019, 5.6% in 2021 and 1.7% in 2022.

The number of patients arriving with the police under s136 has increased. The numbers were too small to see a trend in transfers to the crisis hub and psychiatric admissions.

Future work might evaluate the vanguard street triage service, or be a repeat of this evaluation once there is medical cover in the hub, or look at the fraction of patients seen in the hub who are referred on to ED, or be qualitative studies of staff and patients’ views of the hub.

The aim of this audit is to assess use of the Mental Health Triage Form (MHTF) at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Emergency Department (ED), during June 2021 and to determine whether MHTF use increases rates of psychiatric-specific information being documented by ED staff. Patient attendances to Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments in the UK during 2020-21 decreased by 30.3% in comparison to 2019-20. However, attendances to A&E at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCH) in June 2021 increased by 51.2% compared to June 2020. Psychiatric patients accounted for 2% of attendances to A&E at RCH in June 2021. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) have recommended use of a mental health proforma document in line with recommendations from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) document ‘Treat as One’. Based on these guidelines, the Psychiatric Liaison department at RCH have a produced a local Mental Health Triage Form (MHTF) to be used in A&E when assessing and clerking psychiatric patients.

This was a retrospective audit of clinical records of 125 mental health cases attending the Accident & Emergency Department (A&E) at Royal Cornwall Hospital during June 2021, which were referred to Psychiatric Liaison.

NHS numbers were identified for each referral made during the study period. Each referral's A&E clerking documents were reviewed on an online patient records system. Information was recorded on whether each question in the Mental Health Triage Form had been answered with or without use of the form.

The Mental Health Triage Form (MHTF) was used in 44 out of 125 patients (35%). 15 patients (12%) had missing Accident & Emergency Department documentation on online records. Where the MHTF was used, there was an 25% average increase in information recorded. Over half of the questions on the MHTF were answered more when the form was used versus when it was not used.

Questions relating to the patients ‘Triage Code’, which are used to determine the level of observation, urgency of referral, and appropriate place of assessment, had the highest rates of improvement using the form.

Overall use of the Mental Health Triage Form during June 2021 reduced to 35% in comparison to 46% use during June 2020. This implied that patients attending the Accident & Emergency Department at the Royal Cornwall Hospital with psychiatric presentations were not being assessed fully. This may be due to various reasons such as staff unfamiliarity with the triage form and increasing pressure on Emergency Department services.