A clash of cultures: A&E and mental health

Accident and emergency (A&E) departments have attracted little attention from psychiatric services, with the exception of emergencies and the management of self harm. Emergency staff gravitate towards those attenders with concrete physical needs, typifying mental health attenders as low status. The aim of this project, which took place over a 12 month period, was to improve the quality of care provided to persons attending an A&E department with mental health needs, through a staff development programme. It was initiated for the generic A&E nurse with no formal training in mental health care. The programme was based on knowledge generated through a collaborative approach using an action research process. This article particularly focuses on the mindsets, values and strategies which evolved through the study. The project indicated that facets of the A&E culture such as staff values, technology, communication patterns and the environment give mental health a low status. Conflict is generated between the individual and the macro culture, dominated by the excitement of trauma care and the short-term, immediate nature of the work.