New Zealand
Almost one in five emergency department presentations between 2017 and 2018 were by current (7%) or former (11%) mental health clients, finds a new study in the New Zealand Medical Journal. They were often younger, female and Māori, required more urgent care and waited longer than other presentations. Many did not wait for or complete treatment. While former mental health clients were mostly presenting with pain or injuries, the authors say that emergency department data might not reflect whether these were linked to mental health, especially as it does not identify self-harm behaviour.
From:
In a 1-year period, nearly one in five presentations to the Wellington emergency department (ED) were by clients under mental health services. These people presented for mental health concerns, pain or following an injury. Many mental health clients waited a long time in ED. If these clients needed to stay in hospital, this was mostly done by the ED, not by mental health services.
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