Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
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Australas Psychiatry · Dec 2019
Mental health patients in emergency departments are suffering: the national failure and shame of the current system. A report on the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine's Mental Health in the Emergency Department Summit.
Inadequate capacity in Australia's mental health system means that many people turn to emergency departments (ED) in crisis for care and support, often because it is the only service available. Australian Governments have set a 4-h target for all ED care, but the data shows that people presenting to an ED in a mental health crisis are the group most likely to wait more than 24 h for care. These long waits, seemingly with no end in sight, are harmful for patients and deeply frustrating for clinicians. ⋯ In response, in 2018, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) organised the national Mental Health in the Emergency Department Summit. Delegates from across clinical disciplines and user groups were unified in their deep concern at the unacceptable state of mental health support available to people seeking help through EDs. The Summit identified four priorities for urgent action and urged government to take immediate steps to improve this situation.
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Australas Psychiatry · Jun 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialBurnout and distress in Australian physician trainees: Evaluation of a wellbeing workshop.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop intervention to promote wellbeing for Australian physician trainees using a randomized-controlled design. ⋯ High rates of psychological morbidity detected in the study suggest that physician trainees are a vulnerable group who may benefit from initiatives that promote wellbeing and changes in the workplace to reduce distress.
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Australas Psychiatry · Apr 2019
Comparative StudyNothing to sneeze at - uptake of protective measures against an influenza pandemic by people with schizophrenia: willingness and perceived barriers.
To examine willingness to adopt protective behaviours, and perceived barriers, during a pandemic influenza, in people with schizophrenia. ⋯ People with schizophrenia report being generally willing to adopt protective measures, especially increased hand washing, during a pandemic influenza. Understanding perceived barriers may enable development of effective interventions to increase uptake of protective measures.
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Australas Psychiatry · Feb 2019
Do police-mental health co-responder programmes reduce emergency department presentations or simply delay the inevitable?
The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes for people following intervention by a police-mental health co-responder team. ⋯ Interventions provided through the co-responder team were capable not only of resolving the immediate crisis for the majority of people, but were also likely to divert people away from ED and inpatient treatment in the immediate term.
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Australas Psychiatry · Feb 2019
No gold medals: Assessing Australia's international mental health performance.
The objective of this study was to present an assessment of Australia's mental health system performance, within its social context, by comparison with other countries. ⋯ While international benchmarking can play an important role in fostering quality improvement, there are only limited mental health or social system performance data sources to utilise. It would be desirable for a more systematic international process to be established to review existing approaches and design a new multilateral strategy. It would be important that this new strategy reflected the full experience of mental health and its broader social context.