Department of child & adolescent psychiatry, SMMS, UCD.
Department of Psychiatry, SVUH, Elm Park, Dublin.
Ir Med J. 2020 Feb 13;113(2):22.
Aim Examine costs associated with acute mental health presentations (AMHP) to a paediatric emergency department (ED) in 2016 and 2018. Methods Case identification and bed costs were calculated. Results In 2018, 163 youths attended the ED with AMHP, 122 (75%) were admitted (average 8 days), representing a yearly cost to the hospital of €1,028,020, average cost per patient €8,426. This marks an increase of €425,320 or €2,686 per patient compared to 2016. Arriving out of hours, presence of self-harm (SH) and discharge to an inpatient psychiatry bed were all associated with greater costs. Conclusion Despite increasing hospital costs associated with out of hours psychiatric emergencies, dedicated funding is not yet in place. All children should have access to urgent MH assessment. Work force planning and creation of pathways of care for young people with MH needs, including dedicated funding from HSE mental health division must be a priority.
目的 调查 2016 年和 2018 年儿科急诊（ED）急性心理健康就诊的相关成本。方法 计算病例识别和床位成本。结果 2018 年，163 名青少年因急性心理健康问题到 ED 就诊，122 名（75%）住院（平均住院 8 天），这给医院带来了 1028020 欧元的年成本，每位患者的平均成本为 8426 欧元。与 2016 年相比，这一数字增加了 425320 欧元或每位患者增加了 2686 欧元。非工作时间就诊、存在自伤（SH）和转至精神病住院病床都与更高的成本相关。结论 尽管非工作时间精神科急诊相关的医院成本不断增加，但尚未设立专门资金。所有儿童都应能够获得紧急心理健康评估。规划劳动力并为有心理健康需求的年轻人创建护理途径，包括 HSE 精神健康部门的专门资金，这必须是优先事项。
