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Abstract

Introduction

In response to the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the Victorian government established six purpose-built Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drug (MHAOD) emergency department (ED) Hubs. This study evaluates the MHAOD Hub at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (SVHM), which opened in March 2022 as metropolitan Melbourne’s first multidisciplinary Mental Health and Drug or Alcohol Hub integrated into the St Vincent’s Emergency Department.

Methods

This retrospective analysis covers patient admissions to the MHAOD Hub from March 2022 to June 2024, documenting demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes.

Results

8553 MHAOD admissions were recorded. The Hub admitted a high proportion of vulnerable populations, including 8.4% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders and 36.5% homeless individuals. 76.5% of presentations to the Hub were categorised as Australasian Triage Category (ATS) 1, 2 or 3. The most common discharge diagnosis was alcohol-related diagnosis (18.95%) followed by suicidality (14.71%) and psychosis (5.66%). 17.1% of presentations were admitted to the psychiatric ward.

Conclusion

This study highlights the effectiveness of MHAOD Hub care in improving timely access to care and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. Future research should focus on qualitative assessments to capture the nuanced patient and staff experiences and further evaluate long-term outcomes.

Keywords

emergency department mental health drug and alcohol psychiatric emergency

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Supplementary Material

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Evaluation of the ED MHAOD Hub at St Vincent’s hospital