"New" Psychiatric Emergencies Between Hospital and Territory. Survey Results on the Innovative Protocol Between the Emergency Department and Mental Health Center in Trento.

Abstract

In 2022, psychiatric condition-related admissions constituted 3.2 per cent of all emergency room admissions in Italy, according to the Ministry of Health's latest mental health report. Psychiatric crises are an increasingly significant portion of emergency department (ED) visits nationwide, with around 1 in 8 visits involving mental health and substance use disorders. Patients facing psychiatric emergencies tend to experience longer lengths of stay and boarding times in the ED, along with higher admission rates compared to those with other medical conditions. Extended boarding times for psychiatric patients in the ED increase their vulnerability to adverse events, such as medication errors, the use of restraints, and assaults. Moreover, the prolonged boarding of psychiatric patients contributes to ED overcrowding, which negatively impacts all ED patients, leading to increased morbidity and mortality due to delays in treatment and preventable errors. One of the most effective strategies to counteract this phenomenon has been the choice of directing psychiatric emergencies that are deferrable or compatible with a territorial crisis management from the Trent ED to the Mental Health Center in the territory. This option, promoted through the application of experimental procedures that are currently in the process of being definitively ratified as official company procedures, has, first and foremost, numerous advantages for psychiatric users, who are received in less medicalized settings that are more attentive to the relational and psychological component, while still having suitable medical and nursing equipment. It also fosters continuity of care with the territorial therapeutic network, allows early interception of situations that are promptly taken care of by the territorial specialist center, and more easily offers treatment alternatives to hospitalization. This approach allows for the optimal utilisation of resources and expertise available at Mental Health Centres within the community, thereby preventing the overcrowding of hospital emergency departments.