Robyn Manzie, director of mental health and drug and alcohol for Murrumbidgee Local Health District, responds to questions put to her by The Border Mail after a suicidal teen was made to wait more than three hours at Albury Base Hospital's emergency department.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Robyn Manzie, director of mental health and drug and alcohol for Murrumbidgee Local Health District:
Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) apologises for any distress the patient experienced.
All mental health patients arriving at Albury Base Hospital are triaged in the Emergency Department and seen by a doctor to initially assess their medical condition.
The doctor completes a physical examination to ensure there are no physical conditions to attend to first.
If the patient needs a mental health assessment, the doctor will contact the Mental Health Emergency Care Service (MHECS) which arranges admission to Nolan House if appropriate.
MHECS, a service of MLHD, is currently available between 8am and 10pm and efforts are underway to increase this to 24 hour cover.
This is the standard emergency triage process for all patient presentations to hospital emergency departments, including mental health conditions.
We encourage the mental health patient to contact us via the MLHD complaints line on 1800 011 824 or by email to feedback@gsahs.health.nsw.gov.au so we can look into their concerns.
We value feedback as an important way to improve patient care.
All concerns raised are treated in confidence, investigated thoroughly and feedback is provided on steps taken to improve patient care.
