Emergency Psychiatry

What we do

We are part of the Alfred Mental Health Service and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The services we provide to clients and families during a mental health crisis include:

24-hour telephone support and triage
outreach (including in-home) assessment and treatment
collaborative care within the Emergency Department and the general hospital wards of the Alfred

We are a multi-disciplinary team made up of :

specialist mental health nurses
nurse practitioners
social workers
occupational therapists
clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists
psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists

The various parts of our service will aim to tailor our support to meet your particular need, such as:

Psychiatric Triage

When you require service from a specialist mental health team or advice for mental health issues, we can provide telephone advice, assessment and treatment planning.

Triage operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Contact 1300 363 746

Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT)

We provide outreach assessment and treatment, in your home, for those in mental health crisis or during a time when intensive support is needed. It offers an alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation, however if an admission is required, CATT can facilitate this process and provide follow up after discharge if required.

Psychiatric Triage will determine if a CATT assessment is the most appropriate response for your needs.

Alfred Police And CATT Early Response (A-PACER)

We are a team of mental health clinicians who work with the Victoria Police. We respond with the police to any 000 calls where mental health issues may be involved. Police refer directly to A-PACER.

Emergency Psychiatry Service (EPS)

We work in the Alfred Emergency Department and see patients who are displaying mental health difficulties or where mental ill-health is contributing to their presentation.

Consultation-Liaison Service

We support other areas in the hospital to provide care to patients admitted to the Alfred with mental and physical illness, or where mental ill-health arises in the context of physical illness. We provide advice about management, assessment and treatment.

Who we care for

We care for individuals experiencing acute symptoms of mental ill-health. These might include those struggling with:

depression and anxiety
schizophrenia and psychosis
bipolar disorder
borderline personality disorder
drug and alcohol related problems, including psychosis

Our services operate in the inner south east of Melbourne.

What to expect

When you contact our Psychiatric Triage, an experienced mental health clinician will ask a number of questions in order to determine how we might best help you. Interventions offered may include referral to our CATT service, referral to other appropriate community services or telephone support.

If you have been referred to our CATT service, a member of the team will call you to make a suitable time to come and meet you. We will visit as often as required, depending on your need.

The types of support offered may include: