Emergency Psychiatry

Clinical service overview

The Emergency and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry program is part of the Alfred Mental Health Service, based at Alfred Hospital. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide advice, comprehensive mental health assessment and to provide psychiatric treatment for individuals living in the inner south east of Melbourne.

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

Our services include:

Psychiatric Triage

This service provides telephone advice and assessment and treatment planning by an experienced mental health clinician to those seeking mental health support. The range of potential treatment options will be discussed including arranging a community assessment when indicated.

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

Contact 1300 363 746

Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT)

This team provide outreach assessment and treatment, in a client's home, for those in mental health crisis or during a time when intensive support is needed.

This intensive outreach service is community-based and offers an alternative to psychiatric hospitalisation. If admission to hospital is required however, CATT can facilitate this process and provide follow up after discharge if required.

CATT clinicians augment and enhance the psychiatric management of mental ill-health by providing regular psychiatric reviews, oversight of medical management including review and administration of medications as well as providing information and education to clients, their carers and families. Once the acute phase of illness has passed, CATT will facilitate a transfer of a client’s care to an appropriate service for ongoing treatment. This may include referral to a private psychiatrist or psychologist or to other specialist mental health services, where indicated.

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

Alfred Police And CATT Early Response (A-PACER)

A-PACER is a specialist team consisting of a senior mental health clinician and a member of Victoria Police. They provide a timely response to calls received via 000 that suggest a mental health issue may need to be addressed.

Only police can refer to A-PACER.

Emergency Psychiatry Service (EPS)

This team, based in the Alfred Emergency Department (ED), receives referrals from ED staff for patients presenting with mental health difficulties or where it is suspected that mental ill-health is contributing to their presentation.

EPS provide expert assessment and/or intervention, for these patients and advice and consultation to the ED staff.

Only ED staff can refer to EPS.

Consultation-Liaison Service

The Consultation-Liaison service supports medical, surgical and rehabilitation units in the Alfred hospital to provide care to patients admitted to the Alfred with co-occurring mental and physical illness, or where mental ill-health arises in the context of physical illness.

We provide advice to referring medical and surgical units about psychiatric management, and assessment and treatment, including ongoing treatment of patients experiencing mental health difficulties who require such support.