There will be major impacts not only for patients requiring mental health care, but also for all other patients and staff in EDs, as well as Police and Ambulance services. With fewer psychiatrists in the public health system, access to specialist services in the community will be compromised, leaving many patients with nowhere to turn but the EDs.
However, according to the NSW Bureau of Health Information and ACEM’s Nowhere Else to Go Report, mental health patients already face some of the longest delays in receiving specialist care, often waiting for days in EDs due to a lack of beds and resources. With mental health wards left critically understaffed, even more patients will be left stranded in the ED, lacking access to the specialist care and facilities they need.
ACEM’s NSW Faculty Chair Dr Rhys Ross-Browne said, “Emergency physicians will continue to do our best to deliver quality and safe emergency care to those who need it – whether for a physical or mental health emergency. However, we are not psychiatrists and cannot replace their crucial function in delivering emergency mental health care. EDs cannot compensate for a shortage of mental health services, either in the community or in the hospital.”
Background:
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
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