Emergency rooms are often the first experience one has concerning a mental health issue. Consequently, the emergency room within the hospital or medical center, is the site most people will find themselves when they are unsure of what is happening to him or herself or a loved one. According to a recent article in the mental health section of Fox news entitled, Emergency Rooms Slow To Treat, Transfer Psychiatric Patients, (2016), emergency rooms (ER’s) have become the dumping grounds for those exhibiting symptoms of mental illness. In this short paper, it will be made apparent that most emergency departments in hospitals within and outside the United States, are not sufficiently equipped to deal with those who have mental disorders (Fox News,
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This could also leave the hospital open for legal issues of neglect, abandonment, malpractice and possibly putting others at risk of being harmed (Remley & Herlihy, 2015). In Gary, Indiana a hospital came up with a valid solution as evidenced by a local newspaper article (Bruce, 2015). To lighten the load of the local ER and keep people out of jail due to misconduct from a mental condition, a mental health agency opened a new rapid access facility to treat those with psychiatric issues. To better meet the needs of those who visit the ER’s for mental health needs an increase in counselors and psychiatric nurses should be put into place to meet the increased demand and to maintain a higher level of legal and ethical level of treatment (Coristine, Hartford, Vingilis, & White, 2007). This article (Coristine et al., 2007), showed that those with mental disorders and their family members that visited the ER were concerned with the hospital’s ability to maintain confidentiality. The patients state the ER rooms don’t have sufficient privacy for mental health issues and therefor cause a breech in confidentiality (Coristine et al., …show more content…
W., Hartford, K., Vingilis, E., & White, D. (2007). Mental health triage in the er: a qualitative study. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 13(2), 303–309. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00759.x
Emergency Rooms Slow To Treat, Transfer Psychiatric Patients. (2016, September 23). [Text.Article]. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/09/23/emergency-rooms-slow-to-treat-transfer-psychiatric-patients.html
Innes, K., Morphet, J., O’Brien, A. P., & Munro, I. (2014). Caring for the mental illness patient in emergency departments - an exploration of the issues from a healthcare provider perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(13/14), 2003–2011. http://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12437
Remley, T. P. & Herlihy, B. P. (2015). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (5 edition). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Shattell, M. M., Harris, B., Beavers, J., Tomlinson, S. K., Prasek, L., Geevarghese, S., … Heyland, M. (2014). A recovery-oriented alternative to hospital emergency departments for persons in emotional distress: “the living room.” Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35(1), 4–12.
This could also leave the hospital open for legal issues of neglect, abandonment, malpractice and possibly putting others at risk of being harmed (Remley & Herlihy, 2015). In Gary, Indiana a hospital came up with a valid solution as evidenced by a local newspaper article (Bruce, 2015). To lighten the load of the local ER and keep people out of jail due to misconduct from a mental condition, a mental health agency opened a new rapid access facility to treat those with psychiatric issues. To better meet the needs of those who visit the ER’s for mental health needs an increase in counselors and psychiatric nurses should be put into place to meet the increased demand and to maintain a higher level of legal and ethical level of treatment (Coristine, Hartford, Vingilis, & White, 2007). This article (Coristine et al., 2007), showed that those with mental disorders and their family members that visited the ER were concerned with the hospital’s ability to maintain confidentiality. The patients state the ER rooms don’t have sufficient privacy for mental health issues and therefor cause a breech in confidentiality (Coristine et al., …show more content…
W., Hartford, K., Vingilis, E., & White, D. (2007). Mental health triage in the er: a qualitative study. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 13(2), 303–309. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00759.x
Emergency Rooms Slow To Treat, Transfer Psychiatric Patients. (2016, September 23). [Text.Article]. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/09/23/emergency-rooms-slow-to-treat-transfer-psychiatric-patients.html
Innes, K., Morphet, J., O’Brien, A. P., & Munro, I. (2014). Caring for the mental illness patient in emergency departments - an exploration of the issues from a healthcare provider perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(13/14), 2003–2011. http://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12437
Remley, T. P. & Herlihy, B. P. (2015). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (5 edition). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Shattell, M. M., Harris, B., Beavers, J., Tomlinson, S. K., Prasek, L., Geevarghese, S., … Heyland, M. (2014). A recovery-oriented alternative to hospital emergency departments for persons in emotional distress: “the living room.” Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35(1), 4–12.