Improving access to acute mental health services in a general hospital

There is a paucity of service research on the effectiveness of short-term mental health clinics.

To outline the development of the Urgent Consultation Clinic (UCC), an inter-professional, short-term, mental health program in a general hospital, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the UCC from a quality improvement perspective.

Participants (n = 143) completed a battery of validated measures assessing psychological and physical symptoms, quality of life, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with services at three time-points. Inter-professional team members rated participants' overall functioning and severity of mental health problems at intake and termination.

The median time from referral to initial UCC visit was 12 days. A significant decline in the severity of mental health symptoms was observed, with 87% of participants reporting clinically elevated symptoms at intake compared to 71% at termination. Significant improvements were observed in life satisfaction, overall functioning, and mental quality of life. Sixty-nine percent of participants rated the quality of services as good or excellent.

The UCC model of care contributed to improved access to psychiatric evaluation and short-term treatment. This inter-professional model could be applied to other health care settings to meet the needs of patients requiring acute psychiatric services.