[Outpatient mental health consultations: reducing delays, optimising organisation]

Abstract

The Hauts-de-France psychiatry unit has oriented its organisation to facilitate access to care. While the aim is to improve the time taken for patients to be seen, it corresponds to a need on the part of users that has been growing over the years. The key is an early clinical assessment of care situations, followed by an appropriate response for the patient in terms of referral and follow-up. Improving access to care is therefore directly linked to human resources and the resulting organisation. Medical on-call duty, nursing and psychological duty and the importance of the secretariat are all tools that need to be optimised.

Keywords: access to care; accueil; accès aux soins; consultation; early assessment; permanence des soins; permanence of care; psychiatric emergency; reception; réseau social; social network; urgence psychiatrique; évaluation précoce.