The patterns of use of psychiatric emergency services in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan were studied. A total of 576 patients who had received psychiatric emergency care from any of the four major health care facilities in Saskatoon during a three month period were included in the study. Visits for psychiatric emergency services during the study period represented 2.32% of the total number of visits to emergency facilities. Most patients with psychiatric emergencies went to hospitals with psychiatric units. The characteristics of patients served by the four facilities and those who visited the psychiatric emergency services on more than one occasion during the study period are reported. The implications of these findings for health care planning are discussed.

The clinical characteristics of patients seen at the psychiatric emergency facilities in a Canadian city and the determinants of decisions regarding their treatment were investigated. A total of 544 patients who sought psychiatric emergency services from the three hospitals in Saskatoon during a three month period were studied. Cognitive disturbance, past psychiatric history, previous psychiatric hospitalization and diagnoses of substance use disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders and schizophrenic disorders were associated with psychiatric emergencies. Psychiatric diagnoses and availability of social support were significantly associated with disposition. The implications of these findings for psychiatric emergency services are discussed.

No abstract