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Psychological Medicine | Counties Manukau | Te Whatu Ora

Public Service, Mental Health

Liaison Psychiatry - Inpatients

Our team sees Middlemore Hospital inpatients aged 18 and older. We provide mental health assessment and treatment for issues such as difficulties with emotions such as depression and anxiety, suicidal thoughts, difficulties coping and adjusting to health problems or disability, problems with memory or thinking, mental illness such as psychosis, and medically unexplained symptoms.


Our services include:

  • support of medical and nursing staff in providing psychological care
  • teaching and training in psychiatric aspects of medicine 
  • assessment of suspected mental illness
  • assessment of confusion or memory problems
  • assessment of risk
  • advice and support for managing behavioural disturbance
  • advice on capacity and Mental Health Act related issues
  • assistance with discharge and management planning
  • referral to other specialist mental health services, including inpatient mental health units

Our team are:

  • Dr Diana Richardson - Liaison Psychiatrist 
  • Dr Jackie Liggins - Liaison Psychiatrist 
  • Dr John Hopkins - Liaison Psychiatrist
  • Dr Song Chan - Liaison Psychiatrist
  • Sylvia Wang - Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Heidi Barnett - Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Helen Duvyestyn- Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Teresa Harris - Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Dr Nicholas Rush - Psychiatric Registrar
  • Dr Sigourney Taylor - Psychiatric Registrar

This page was last updated at 2:44PM on July 4, 2022.