❓ A parliamentary question seeking information on mental health service provision at Bunbury Regional Hospital's emergency department, including staffing levels, budget allocation, and procedures for mental health patients. The answer provides details on on-call arrangements, the role of a Mental Health Liaison Nurse, and the process for assessing and managing mental health patients.
AnsweredQoN 4890Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In relation to the provision of mental health services in the emergency department at the Bunbury Regional Hospital, I ask:
(a) other than general practitioners, how many full-time equivalent (FTE) positions are appointed at the Bunbury Regional Hospital for:
(i) doctors specialising in mental health;
(ii) psychiatrists; and
(iii) psychologists;
(b) how many doctors who specialise in mental health, psychiatrists or psychologists are rostered on duty in the emergency department between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.;
(c) are there any nurses specialising in mental health working at the Bunbury Regional Hospital; and
(i) if so, how many, and are they rostered to work in the emergency department;
(d) what is the annual budget for staff rostered to work in the emergency department;
(e) what portion of that budget is dedicated to having mental health professionals work in the emergency department; and
(f) what is the procedure for a mental health patient who presents to the emergency department for treatment?
(a) other than general practitioners, how many full-time equivalent (FTE) positions are appointed at the Bunbury Regional Hospital for:
(i) doctors specialising in mental health;
(ii) psychiatrists; and
(iii) psychologists;
(b) how many doctors who specialise in mental health, psychiatrists or psychologists are rostered on duty in the emergency department between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.;
(c) are there any nurses specialising in mental health working at the Bunbury Regional Hospital; and
(i) if so, how many, and are they rostered to work in the emergency department;
(d) what is the annual budget for staff rostered to work in the emergency department;
(e) what portion of that budget is dedicated to having mental health professionals work in the emergency department; and
(f) what is the procedure for a mental health patient who presents to the emergency department for treatment?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 May 2011
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Mental Health
Response time
61 days
(a) Whilst there are no dedicated Emergency Department (ED) FTE Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychiatric Medical Officer positions specifically employed to work in the Bunbury Hospital (BH) ED, an on-call model - with FTE from specialist Mental Health programs - exists to provide the following:
i. 1 on-call Psychiatric Medical Officer providing services to BH ED between 0700 - 2300 hrs.
ii 1 on-call Consultant Psychiatrist providing services to BH ED between 0700 - 2300 hrs.
iii there are no Psychologists providing on-call services to BH ED.
(b) There are no specialist Mental Health medical staff rostered on duty for BH ED between 2300 - 0700 hrs. ED triage nurses and medical staff do however assess and admit mental health patients if they are deemed to be at risk.
(c) Yes. There is 1 Specialist Mental Health Liaison Nurse (MHLN) rostered on every 8 hrs between 0700 and 2300 hrs.
(d) The annual ED budget for BH is $13 million.
(e) The annual budget for MHLN and on-call Psych Medical services is $410 000. This is funded separately by Mental Health Services.
(f) The procedure for a mental health patient who presents to the ED for treatment is as follows:
a. Triage assessment by ED nurse with provision for identifying mental health risk for the patient.
b. Medical review by ED doctor to determine causality of symptoms. If specialist mental health assessment is required, the ED doctor will request MHLN services. Between 2300-0700 hrs, if mental health symptoms are identified as acute, the ED doctor will coordinate an overnight admission and ensure the patient is assessed by MHLN at 0700 hrs.
c. MHLN reviews the patient and coordinates either an admission to the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU), a referral to the Community Mental Health services if non urgent, or a referral to a service that specialises in the problem area identified ie. Alcohol or Drug services
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
i. 1 on-call Psychiatric Medical Officer providing services to BH ED between 0700 - 2300 hrs.
ii 1 on-call Consultant Psychiatrist providing services to BH ED between 0700 - 2300 hrs.
iii there are no Psychologists providing on-call services to BH ED.
(b) There are no specialist Mental Health medical staff rostered on duty for BH ED between 2300 - 0700 hrs. ED triage nurses and medical staff do however assess and admit mental health patients if they are deemed to be at risk.
(c) Yes. There is 1 Specialist Mental Health Liaison Nurse (MHLN) rostered on every 8 hrs between 0700 and 2300 hrs.
(d) The annual ED budget for BH is $13 million.
(e) The annual budget for MHLN and on-call Psych Medical services is $410 000. This is funded separately by Mental Health Services.
(f) The procedure for a mental health patient who presents to the ED for treatment is as follows:
a. Triage assessment by ED nurse with provision for identifying mental health risk for the patient.
b. Medical review by ED doctor to determine causality of symptoms. If specialist mental health assessment is required, the ED doctor will request MHLN services. Between 2300-0700 hrs, if mental health symptoms are identified as acute, the ED doctor will coordinate an overnight admission and ensure the patient is assessed by MHLN at 0700 hrs.
c. MHLN reviews the patient and coordinates either an admission to the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU), a referral to the Community Mental Health services if non urgent, or a referral to a service that specialises in the problem area identified ie. Alcohol or Drug services
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.