TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Emergency examination authorities in Queensland, Australia
JO  - Emergency medicine Australasia
A1  - Clough, Alan R.
A1  - Evans, Angela
A1  - Graham, Veronica
A1  - Catterall, Janet
A1  - Lakeman, Richard
A1  - Gilroy, John
A1  - Pratt, Gregory
A1  - Petrucci, Joe
A1  - Orda, Ulrich
A1  - Sehdev, Rajesh
A1  - Thornton, Neale
A1  - Das, Sourav
A1  - Yearsley, Gillian
A1  - Stone, Richard
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: In Queensland, where a person experiences a major disturbance in their mental capacity, and is at risk of serious harm to self and others, an emergency examination authority (EEA) authorises Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to detain and transport the person to an ED. In the ED, further detention for up to 12 h is authorised to allow the examination to be completed. Little published information describes these critical patient encounters. <br><br>METHODS: Queensland's Public Health Act (2005), amended in 2017, mandates the use of the approved EEA form. Data were extracted from a convenience sample of 942 EEAs including: (i) patient age, sex, address; (ii) free text descriptions by QPS and QAS officers of the person's behaviour and any serious risk of harm requiring urgent care; (iii) time examination period commenced; and (iv) outcome upon examination. <br><br>RESULTS: Of 942 EEA forms, 640 (68%) were retrieved at three 'larger central' hospitals and 302 (32%) at two 'smaller regional' hospitals in non-metropolitan Queensland. QPS initiated 342 (36%) and QAS 600 (64%) EEAs for 486 (52%) males, 453 (48%) females and two intersexes (<1%), aged from 9 to 85 years (median 29 years, 17% aged <18 years). EEAs commonly occurred on weekends (32%) and between 2300 and midnight (8%), characterised by 'drug and/or alcohol issues' (53%), 'self-harm' (40%), 'patient aggression' (25%) and multiple prior EEAs (23%). Although information was incomplete, most patients (78%, n = 419/534) required no inpatient admission. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: EEAs furnish unique records for evaluating the impacts of Queensland's novel legislative reforms.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1742-6731
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.14201
ID  - ref1
ER  -