Care for unaccompanied minors refugees in emergency departments: insight from a psychiatric emergency service

The number of unaccompanied minors refugees (UMR) in France has been increasing steadily for several years. Access to healthcare is a major issue for these young people, especially access to mental health care. According to several studies, there is a high prevalence of mental disorders among migrant children, particularly depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, experience shows that access to mental health care can be limited by many obstacles, with the issue of parental authority when hospitalization is necessary. The centre psychiatrique d'orientation et d'accueil (CPOA) is a regional psychiatric emergency department in Paris, with around 10,000 consultations per year, including several hundred consultations for minors over 16 years of age, around 10% of whom are UMR. We have therefore developed a protocol to provide equal access to psychiatric care for UMR from the emergency departments. It introduces the path taken by these young people on their arrival in France, and the various questions to be asked from a legal point of view, in order to overcome any obstacles and provide the best care for these young people, whatever their administrative situation.