An integrated regional emergency psychiatry service.
This paper presents a model of an integrated Psychiatric Emergency Service serving Hamilton, a community of 450,000 in Southern Ontario. It describes the evolution of the service and how it has integrated five separate, hospital-run Emergency Psychiatric Services into a single service. The principles of the service and ways in which it operates are outlined and the advantages and drawbacks of the model are discussed. The authors conclude that such a model leads to a more efficient use of resources and is adaptable to most urban communities with a similar, or even larger population.
Kates
N
N
Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Eaman
S
S
Santone
J
J
Didemus
C
C
Steiner
M
M
Craven
M
M
D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009864:Ontario; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*