Mental Health and Learning Disability Services: Consultant Psychiatrists (Outpatient Clinics)

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Consultant psychiatrists are medically qualified doctors who deal with mental illness, which includes the interaction between physical illness and mental illness. An equally large number of patients with mental illness will also have physical problems, either contributing to their illness or as a consequence of their mental illness.  Psychiatrists are trained to use integrated biopsychosocial models in understanding the causes of mental illness, and treating mental illness, emotional disturbance and abnormal behaviour.

The Consultant Psychiatrists offer specialist assessment and treatment for patients who are in hospital and people living in the community. The psychiatrist can either provide advice to the patient’s GP on the management of the GP’s patient or see the patient in an outpatient clinic in the Western Isles Hospital (Stornoway), Uist and Barra Hospital (Benbecula) or St Brendan’s Hospital (Barra). The Psychiatrist may also see patients at their own home, depending on the nature of the patient’s problem.

Referral

The normal route of referral is via the Referral Management System and then triaged by the Community Mental Health Nursing service.

Consultant psychiatrists may also receive referrals from the criminal justice service.

Further information

Mike Hutchison
Associate Director of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities
Western Isles Hospital
Macaulay Road
Stornoway
Isle of Lewis
HS1 2AF

Tel: 01851 704704 ext 2410