Development of Australia's first psychiatric emergency centre.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the development of the first Australian psychiatric emergency centre co-located with the Emergency Department at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. This paper covers the current operational model, significant partnerships and benefits of this service, which assesses and treats over 7200 presentations per year.


CONCLUSIONS
The co-location of the Psychiatric Emergency Centre and Emergency Department has created a unique model of service delivery and effective working relationships between the two services. The model improves clinical care providing multiple benefits for patients and the Emergency Department by means of direct access to specialized mental health staff, early mental health responsibility for patients and reduced access block.
Frank
Rowena
R
RBWH Mental Health, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Fawcett
Lisa
L
Emmerson
Brett
B
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D011793:Queensland