Seattle Children’s is experiencing high demand for emergency mental healthcare, with many pediatric patients remaining in its emergency department for more than 24 hours while awaiting further treatment or discharge.
The extended stays occur after patients receive initial evaluations and interventions, according to an Oct. 7 provider notice from the system. Patients may be awaiting placement in the hospital’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit, transfer to another facility or a discharge plan.
With inpatient psychiatric capacity limited, Seattle Children’s is referring patients who require hospitalization to appropriate pediatric psychiatric facilities across Washington. The hospital is also reassessing patients daily to determine whether they can safely return home without an inpatient admission.
To ease pressure on the ED, Seattle Children’s is asking community providers to treat less urgent mental health conditions in outpatient settings when appropriate. The hospital is also encouraging providers to use its Psychiatric Urgent Care service for patients who need prompt attention but not emergency department care.
Providers are being asked to notify the hospital’s Mission Control team before referring patients to the ED. Advance notice may allow the hospital to coordinate a direct admission or an urgent outpatient appointment instead.
Patients experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still go to the nearest ED without hesitation, where acute issues will be addressed as quickly as possible, Seattle Children’s said.
Psychiatric hospitalizations generally last five to 10 days and are intended for short-term crisis stabilization, according to the notice. The hospital is asking providers to help prepare families for prolonged ED waits and to explain that an inpatient referral does not guarantee admission.
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