Citation

Noirot MN, Kannas S, Robin M, Pochard F, Mauriac F, Devynck C, Waddington A. J. Eur. Urgences 1999; 12(4): 165-171.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Masson Editeur )

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

ERIC (Equipe Rapide d'Intervention de Crise/Rapid Crisis Intervention Team) is a mobile unit equipped to intervene 24-hours a day in crisis situations. This service can perform these psychiatric interventions at the patients' homes and offers post-emergency care for up to one month. The service's objective is to place the responsibility of acute psychiatric issues among the patients' personal support system before the traditional institutional aspect of treatment. A study of impact carried out between January 1994 and June 1997, allowed us to evaluate the activity of direct treatment, the characteristics of the patient and the resulting course of treatment received. The results as reported over the course of one year revealed 487 urgent interventions, at the patients' homes in 62% of the cases, with one case of every two for either an anxiety/depressive or suicidal state. In more than 60% of the cases, immediate hospitalization was avoided. At that moment, ambulatory care is proposed consisting of maintenance follow-up visits with on-staff psychiatrists, home nursing visits, potential pharmacotherapy management and continuous telephone support. At all times, a hospitalization for up to 48 hours can be offered without interrupting the on-going ambulatory treatment and this occurred in 18% of patients. From all the patients of ERIC only 30% were hospitalized. There was no increase of suicide risk in the patients who were maintained at home, and this remains true with patients with diagnoses of psychotic illnesses.

Language: fr

Keywords

ambulatory care; anxiety; article; crisis intervention; Crisis intervention; depression; emergency health service; home care; Home psychiatric treatment; hospitalization; human; major clinical study; priority journal; Psychiatric emergency; responsibility; suicidal behavior; support group; Systemic model; telephone