Safety recommendation
It is recommended that the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, in conjunction with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, develops and disseminates national guidance for emergency department practitioners to standardise the initial assessment of a person presenting following a mental health emergency.
Response:
We very much welcomed the Report on such an important issue and the focus that you gave to the contribution that effective assessment of a patient following a mental health emergency can have on securing better outcomes. In relation to the area that you were looking for the College to undertake work on in conjunction with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), there are a number of pieces of activity in train and these are set out below:
- The RCPsych and RCEM are working on a joint position statement on parallel working between Emergency Department and Liaison Psychiatry staff to ensure that patients with mental health presentations are triaged and assessed in a timely manner.
- The RCPsych and RCEM are working with NHS Improvement to collate, disseminate and, if necessary, develop, care pathways for patients presenting to Emergency Departments with acute mental health problems.
- The RCEM annual Emergency Department audit for 2019 will include specific standards for mental health triage, including risk assessment and observation.
- In addition, the RCPsych and RCEM will offer to collaborate with NICE on safety recommendation 2, in amending guidance for the management of self-harm in the Emergency Department.
Response received on 6 February 2019.