Emergency referrals to an acute psychiatric service: Demographic, social and clinical characteristics and comparisons with those receiving continuing services

Changing demand for mental health services in the emergency department of a public hospital

“…Holmes also referred to three studies conducted in other countries that show a wide range of diagnoses with large percentages being diagnosed with psychotic illness, substance-use problems and depression. Hatfield [10] reported data from an emergency psychiatric assessment service in the UK which showed 50% of patients had mood or anxiety disorders, more than twice as many as those with psychosis or personality disorders. Data from a 3-month review of presentations to a London 'accident and emergency' facility showed the most common mental health reasons were deliberate self harm (31%), substance abuse (20%), psychosis (17%) and mood disturbance (15%) [11].…”

Psychiatric Emergency Services: A Review of the Literature and a Proposed Research Agenda

“…Quite a few articles describe individual PES programs including mobile crisis, police, telephone, and emergency department psychiatric consultation services (5,(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). A few studies address service variations related to academic and public versus private settings (12,19).…”

“…DeClercq (4) identifies deinstitutionalization, a rising incidence of substance abuse, and both the decreased tolerance for and increased occurrence of community social problems as reasons for the evolution of PES. The demand for emergency services is also related to the availability and success of other psychiatric services in the area (5). The psychiatric client population has increased while traditional inpatient and outpatient service offerings have decreased.…”

Changing Demand for Mental Health Services in the Emergency Department of a Public Hospital

“…A further 10% of patients were thought to have a psychotic illness and 8% depression. Hatfield [10] reported data from an emergency psychiatric assessment service in the UK which showed 50% of patients had mood or anxiety disorders, more than twice as many as those with psychosis or personality disorders. Holmes also referred to three studies conducted in other countries that show a wide range of diagnoses with large percentages being diagnosed with psychotic illness, substance-use problems and depression.…”