Dr Alex Thomson: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Clinician
- Role
- Chair, Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry, Royal College of Psychiatrists; Clinical Lead for Liaison Psychiatry and Urgent and Emergency Care, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Organisation based in
- Bethnal Green and Stepney
- Quoted on
- Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
- Tracked press citations
- 1
- Most recently quoted
- 27 Aug 2026
Who Dr Alex Thomson is
Dr Alex B. Thomson is a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist working in the Department of Psychological Medicine at Northwick Park Hospital, part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL). He holds the qualifications BA, MBBS, MA and FRCPsych. He serves as Chair of the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and as CNWL's Clinical Lead for Liaison Psychiatry and Urgent and Emergency Care, a role focused on improving mental health care for patients in acute hospitals and supporting urgent and emergency mental health services. He was a member of the NHS England Mental Health Crisis Care Subgroup that developed London's Section 136 Pathway and Health Based Place of Safety Specification, and has led the introduction of the Framework for Routine Outcome Measurement in Liaison Psychiatry at CNWL. He was named RCPsych Psychiatric Educator of the Year in 2020, recognised for innovative approaches to postgraduate education and for encouraging trainees and trainers to take up leadership roles.
“There is a significant lack of mental health beds in many parts of the country which prevents patients from being admitted for specialist care in a timely manner. These unacceptable delays can put young people at significant risk of becoming more unwell.”
References for this biography
- 1.Alex Thomson – Chair of the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry (LinkedIn) — Current role title as Chair of the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry; base employer CNWL; clinical focus on the Department of Psychological Medicine, Northwick Park Hospital
- 2.Dr Alex B Thomson is the new Clinical Lead for Liaison Psychiatry and Urgent and Emergency Care – CNWL — Appointment as CNWL Clinical Lead for Liaison Psychiatry and Urgent and Emergency Care; scope of role including acute hospital and ambulance/emergency partnerships
- 3.RCPsych Awards 2020 – Psychiatric Educator of the Year — Won Psychiatric Educator of the Year 2020; details of citation including innovation in training and leadership development
- 4.NHS England blog – Improving outcome measurement in liaison mental health care (Alex Thomson) — Role as consultant liaison psychiatrist and clinical network lead at CNWL; membership of NHS England Mental Health Crisis Care Subgroup developing London's Section 136 Pathway
- 5.'Medical clearance' and referral to liaison psychiatry: a national service evaluation – BJPsych Bulletin (2023) — Confirms role as Vice Chair of RCPsych Liaison Psychiatry Faculty and member of the Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network Advisory Group at time of publication; employer CNWL; base at Northwick Park Hospital
- 6.Alex Thomson – ResearchGate profile — Qualifications (BA MBBS MA FRCPsych); employer Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; membership of 2022 NICE Guideline Committee on self-harm
- 7.Alex Thomson (@AlexBThomson) on X — Self-identified as FRCPsych liaison psychiatrist; RCPsych Psychiatric Educator of the Year 2020; topic areas include self-harm, policing and mental health, staff wellbeing, adult protection — confirming account identity
Notable achievements
- Won the RCPsych Psychiatric Educator of the Year award in 2020, recognised for innovative approaches to postgraduate training and leadership development across liaison psychiatry. Source ↗
- Member of the NHS England Mental Health Crisis Care Subgroup that developed London's Section 136 Pathway and Health Based Place of Safety Specification. Source ↗
- Named CNWL Clinical Lead for Liaison Psychiatry and Urgent and Emergency Care, leading mental health care improvement across acute hospitals and emergency settings. Source ↗
- Co-authored a national service evaluation on 'medical clearance' and referral to liaison psychiatry, published in BJPsych Bulletin (2023), while serving as Vice Chair of the RCPsych Liaison Psychiatry Faculty. Source ↗
- Served on the 2022 NICE Guideline Committee on self-harm, co-authoring an editorial highlighting key recommendations for mental health professionals. Source ↗
Recent social activity
This feels analagous to the current capacity issues in the NHS. What happens when the hospital beds are full? What happens when the S. 136 suites and emergency depts. are full?
Where Dr Alex Thomson has been quoted
- Children detained under Mental Health Act held for hours in A&E departmentstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.
Contact & links
- Xhttps://x.com/alexbthomsonpublished here ↗
- LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/alex-thomson-267aa118
- Staff pagehttps://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/news/dr-alex-b-thomson-new-clinical-lead-liaison-psychiatry-and-urgent-and-emergency-care
Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.
Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other registered clinicians quoted in a clinical capacity. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 5 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.