"Mental Health Awareness training for A&E services"

Can you please review your A&E service at St James University to ensure it is fit for purpose for those attending with mental health issues?

For anybody with mental health issues it can be incredibly difficult to recognise that you need help in the first place, so when you finally reach services like A&E to access urgent support you expect it to be well equipped and prepared for such attendances.

Some people with severe mental health can experience mutism where they literally cannot communicate anything. To arrive and have to give your details verbally can be very challenging and enough of a barrier to prevent people attending support. The reception team should be trained to deal with such situations and without being medically trained, know that sometimes communicating can be difficult. Can you implement a details form for patients to complete if they find speaking difficult? Could you have a sign on the window that offers such a form?

The next barrier is the nurse triage desk which is immediately next to reception, directly in front of a small and enclosed waiting area where every word could be heard of every patient to nurse triage even from those on the back row. How does this offer patients the dignity, privacy and respect they need? I knew the reason why every person was there and had all the details of their symptoms, when they started, their medical history and how much pain they were in. The triage process was thorough as you expect it to but surely not in such an open environment? How do you expect somebody in that situation to open up and say why they are there and what help they need? Are there other options available such as a quiet room? If so why isn’t this advertised? Where is the patient centred approach to respect privacy?