Once a room is available, a nurse will take you from the waiting room to your room. Your nurse will do an assessment with you and your child to help the ED doctor decide if it is appropriate to consult the mental health team. This assessment can include questions about safety, school, relationships, and stressors.
After being assessed by the nurse, you will have some time until you are seen by the ED doctor. There are activities that you can request from your nurse to do, such as colouring, while you wait.
The ER doctor will ask questions about the concerns that brought you to the hospital and also do a brief medical screen.
All mental health concerns are taken seriously by the ED team, but not all will involve the mental health team. The ER doctor and nurse will decide if it is appropriate to involve another team to help with your child's situation. These teams can include social work, adolescent medicine, and the mental health team.
If it is not necessary to involve any other teams, the ED doctor can refer you to a service called LINK. LINK has information on mental health resources in your community and will follow-up with you in two business days.
If the decision is to consult the mental health team, you may be assessed by any member of that team, including psychiatric nurses, psychiatry residents, and psychiatrists.