The efficacy, safety and acceptability of emergency embedded Psychiatry Assessment and Planning Units: An evaluation of Psychiatry Assessment and Planning Units in close proximity to their associated emergency departments

Objective: To determine the efficacy, safety and acceptability as well as the patient demographics of three newly developed emergency department-embedded Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units located in Metropolitan Melbourne at Austin, Peninsula and Eastern Health Services. Methods: The evaluation reviewed a 12-month period of service activity from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018, when all three Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units services were operational. A 12-month period from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015 was compared as the pre-Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units period. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods were used. This included semi-structured interviews of 30 Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units patients and 30 emergency department staff (10 of each for all 3 sites), patient survey, statistical analysis of Client Management Interface data for the emergency department and related Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units as well as audit of RISKMAN registers. Results: There were 365 Austin, 567 Eastern and 791 Peninsula Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units admissions. Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units were generally well accepted by patients and emergency department staff, relatively safe, operating within the Key Performance Indicators with mixed effect on emergency department flow. Austin emergency department processing times improved post-Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units (4 hours 57 minutes to 4 hours 19 minutes; p < 0.001) while deteriorating at Eastern and Peninsula. Adjustment Disorder and Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder were the most common admission diagnoses. While the Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units had mixed utility on emergency department processing times, they appear to serve a demographic not previously accommodated in traditional emergency department psychiatry models. Conclusion: The emergency department-embedded Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Unit model of care appears effective on some measures, safe and acceptable to patients and staff. The Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Units seem to service a group not previously accommodated in traditional emergency psychiatry models.