❓ This WA parliamentary question seeks information on how mental health patients are triaged and treated in hospital emergency departments, including recommended and actual wait times. The response provides details on the triage process, recommended treatment times based on the Australasian Triage Scale, and median wait times for mental health patients across WA hospitals from 2015-2018.
AnsweredQoN 5124Legislative Assembly
Asked
7 May 2019
Member
Portfolio
Deputy Premier; Minister for Health; Mental Health
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How are patients who present at a hospital emergency department categorised if deemed to have mental health issues? (2) What is the recommended time within which to treat mental health patients who present to emergency departments? (3) What is the average time within which mental health patients presenting to emergency departments are being treated?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 June 2019
Response time
10 days
I am advised:
(1) All Emergency Department presentations are triaged on arrival. A triage system is the essential structure by which all incoming emergency patients are prioritised using a standard rating scale. The purpose of a triage system is to ensure that the level of emergency care provided is commensurate with clinical criteria.
Mental health triage is based on assessment of appearance, behaviour and conversation. The allocation of a triage code must be based on clinical criteria that are consistent with the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) descriptors for acute behavioural disturbances and risk of harm to self or others.
(2) The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) specifies that time-to-treatment for all Emergency Department presentations including mental health patients are as follows:
Triage 1 (Immediate) - patients should be seen immediately (within seconds) (a time interval of less than or equal to 2 minutes is used to identify those Triage 1 patients seen within time);
Triage 2 (Emergency) - patients should be seen within 10 minutes;
Triage 3 (Urgent) - patients should be seen within 30 minutes;
Triage 4 (Semi-urgent) - patients should be seen within 60 minutes; and
Triage 5 (Non-urgent) - patients should be seen within 120 minutes.
(3) Table 1: Median Emergency Department Wait Times (Minutes) for Mental Health Attendances for all WA hospitals by Calendar Year.
Triage
2015
2016
2017
2018
1
0
0
0
0
2
5
5
5
5
3
23
29
28
29
4
32
43
41
45
5
24
29
37
39
Source: Emergency Department Data Collection, Purchasing and System Performance Division, Department of Health WA
Date: 09 May 2019
Notes: Data is provisional and subject to revision
(1) All Emergency Department presentations are triaged on arrival. A triage system is the essential structure by which all incoming emergency patients are prioritised using a standard rating scale. The purpose of a triage system is to ensure that the level of emergency care provided is commensurate with clinical criteria.
Mental health triage is based on assessment of appearance, behaviour and conversation. The allocation of a triage code must be based on clinical criteria that are consistent with the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) descriptors for acute behavioural disturbances and risk of harm to self or others.
(2) The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) specifies that time-to-treatment for all Emergency Department presentations including mental health patients are as follows:
Triage 1 (Immediate) - patients should be seen immediately (within seconds) (a time interval of less than or equal to 2 minutes is used to identify those Triage 1 patients seen within time);
Triage 2 (Emergency) - patients should be seen within 10 minutes;
Triage 3 (Urgent) - patients should be seen within 30 minutes;
Triage 4 (Semi-urgent) - patients should be seen within 60 minutes; and
Triage 5 (Non-urgent) - patients should be seen within 120 minutes.
(3) Table 1: Median Emergency Department Wait Times (Minutes) for Mental Health Attendances for all WA hospitals by Calendar Year.
Triage
2015
2016
2017
2018
1
0
0
0
0
2
5
5
5
5
3
23
29
28
29
4
32
43
41
45
5
24
29
37
39
Source: Emergency Department Data Collection, Purchasing and System Performance Division, Department of Health WA
Date: 09 May 2019
Notes: Data is provisional and subject to revision
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