The impact of a flow strategy for patients who presented to an Australian emergency department with a mental health illness.
OBJECTIVE
To describe and compare characteristics, care delivered, and outcomes of patients who presented to an emergency department (ED) with a mental health illness before and after the implementation of a patient flow strategy.


METHODS
This was a retrospective, descriptive study. Health care data of patients who presented to a public teaching hospital ED in Queensland, Australia diagnosed with a mental health illness before (5th September 2011-4th March 2012) and after (5th March 2012-4th September 2012) the implementation of a patient flow strategy were analysed.


RESULTS
A total of 3037 (before: n = 1511; after: n = 1526) mental health presentations (4.5% of all ED presentations) were made to the ED. Following the implementation of a patient flow strategy, improvements in ED length of stay, tests performed and nursing observations were seen. These varied by mental health diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that a targeted approach to improving service delivery for a specific cohort of ED patients can make a difference without additional staffing. Further focused refinement of the strategy (such as time waiting for treatment) may be required.
Emergency Department, Gold Coast Hospital & Health Service, Centre for Health Practice Innovation, Griffith University, 1 Hospital Boulevard, Southport, Qld 4215, Australia. Electronic address: nerolie.bost@health.qld.gov.au.
Nerolie
N
Bost
Emergency Department, Gold Coast Hospital & Health Service, Centre for Health Practice Innovation, Queensland Emergency Research Collaborative, Griffith University, 1 Hospital Boulevard, Southport, Qld 4215, Australia.
Julia
J
Crilly
Mental Health & Integrated Care, Gold Coast Hospital & Health Service, 1 Hospital Boulevard, Southport, Qld 4215, Australia.
Karen
K
Wallen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011793:Queensland; D012189:Retrospective Studies
Emergency department; Mental health; Patient flow