SHARING CARING SERVICE - ONE TRUSTS RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM OF RECRUITING A CONSULTANT IN OLD-AGE PSYCHIATRY

This paper describes the attempts of West Cheshire NHS Trust to improv e the quality of services for older people with mental health problems . The trust set up an innovative secondment with a large teaching trus t in Manchester which allowed a consultant in old-age psychiatry to wo rk part time so that she could lead the multi-disciplinary team from W est Cheshire Trust. The differences in service delivery which resulted from this secondment are described, together with the lessons learned .