ABSTRACT
Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) have been mandated to provide 24-hour emergency services, and many patterns have emerged in the provision of these services. The telephone service is managed in a variety of ways. Some agencies have a person at the agency telephone 24 hours a day, while others have a phone answering service that alerts the person on call by beeper. Mobile response is usually in response to a call for assistance from the police, sheriff deputies, or an ambulance service. Generally, the CMHC sends one or two clinicians out to screen an individual and evaluate the situation. The emergency psychiatry service generally assumes the responsibility for relationships between the emergency department and other psychiatric facilities. This entails arranging, confirming, and facilitating transfers as well as establishing written agreements between institutions so transfers can proceed smoothly 24 hours a day.
