A specialist mental health team at a Norfolk hospital is to more than double in size this winter.

The team, from the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), assesses and treats people with mental health issues when they attend an acute hospital.

But thanks to £485,000 in funding, 21 members of staff will be recruited in addition to join the 13-strong Mental Health Liaison Service, based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

From April 2018 onwards, the service will be funded by NHS Norwich, NHS South Norfolk and NHS North Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), which will together provide £1.5m annually.

The expanded team will begin working across the hospital in January.

They will assess and risk manage patients with mental health issues, as well as referring onwards to other NSFT services and those provided by partner organisations.