Hundreds waiting 24 hours in EDs for mental health treatment
The figures should be a wake-up call for government, says AMA WA
Hundreds of patients in WA are waiting more than 24 hours in hospital emergency departments for mental health treatment every month.
In July, the WA Government launched a system that alerted the health minister every time a patient waited 24 hours or longer in ED for mental health treatment or transfer to a hospital bed.
The data was then shared with the AMA WA and reported in its journal, Medicus.
In its first month, 126 patients were recorded as having waited at least a day for mental health treatment, including at least one patient younger than 18.
