Is psychiatric emergency service (PES) use increasing over time?

Table 1 Site characteristics and some notable changes in mental health care delivery (CMHCD) during the observation periods.

Site	City location	PES location	Catchment area	Regular staff	Observation period¹	CMHCD
A	Montreal	General Hospital	Yes	Yes	1985 – 2002	Yes²
B	Montreal	Psychiatric Facility	Yes	Yes	1995 – 2006	Yes³
C*	Kingston	General Hospital	No	Yes	1995 – 2005	Yes⁴

* Site 'C' comprises 2 PESs located in separate general hospitals. The same staff covered both sites.
¹ The yearly observation period at site 'A' began in June whereas it began in January at sites 'B' and 'C'.
² The closure of a neighboring PES, an increase in PES observation beds from 8 to 16, the opening of an outpatient day hospital.
³ The closing of a PES approximately 10 km away.
⁴ The gradual downsizing of a local psychiatric facility, a 30% reduction in acute general hospital psychiatric beds, the addition of specialized social workers in the PES both for the day and evening shifts.

ISSN: 1752-4458