Addition of Pharmacists in Behaviours Of Concern response teams in the emergency department.

Not Applicable

• Conditions: mental health; emergency medicine; Emergency medicine - Other emergency care; Public Health - Health service research

• Registration Number: ACTRN12624000942550
• Lead Sponsor: Alfred Health

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2024-08-05
• Last Update Posted: 12 August 2024

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ot yet recruiting
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 50

Inclusion Criteria

All patients being received after a Behaviour of Concern” (BOC) call, initially assessed in the BOC room during EM pharmacist working hours (7am-9pm Monday to Friday).

Caring for patients with behavioural concerns in the Emergency Department (ED) is a common occurrence. Violence and aggression, self-harm, absconding, and assault are often a consequence of patients in acute distress who react unfavourably to a restrictive, unfamiliar and often re-traumatising hospital environment. The causes of aggression are usually multifactorial and include characteristics and severity of mental illness, the rules and limitations of the environment, past experience, waiting times to see clinical staff, comorbidities such as underlying psychiatric illness or are facilitated by exposure to alcohol and other drugs such as methamphetamines. These behaviours pose threats to patients, visitors, and staff who must be protected from harm.

Exclusion Criteria

BOC call for patients already in the ED, apart from in the Waiting Room
Patients less than 18 years and greater than 65 years
Patients not requiring medication for treatment or restrictive intervention

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The primary outcome will be defined as the proportion of patients that have a subsequent Code Grey and/or Code Black during ED length of stay after initial Behaviour of Concern call. (A composite outcome)[Nominal, binary data assessed via electronic medical records Assessed from time of arrival in ED when first behaviour of concern call occurs until discharge from ED. (retrospective data collection at the conclusion of the study)]