Management of mental health patients in Victorian emergency departments: A 10 year follow-up study

Objectives Despite efforts to restructure mental health (MH) services across Victoria, the social and economic burden of MH illness continues to grow. This study compares MH presentations to EDs with a study undertaken 10 years earlier. Methods The article is a retrospective observational study of MH presentations to four Victorian EDs between May and October 2013. Subjects were included if the presentation was MH related as determined by an International Classification of Diseases (version 10) discharge diagnosis, they were referred to an emergency crisis assessment team or had a documented presenting psychiatric complaint. Variables were extracted from electronic medical records and compared with 2004 data from a previous published study. Results There were 5659 MH presentations over the 5 months compared with 2788 in 2004. The median ED length of stay decreased from 4:18 h in 2004 to 3:20 h in 2013 (P 4 h from 52.5% to 35.4% (P