Improving the care of mentally ill patients in a tertiary emergency department: development of a psychiatric assessment and planning unit.

Objective: The aim was to describe the Psychiatric Assessment and Planning Unit (PAPU), established at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) to improve access to psychiatric care for patients presenting via the Emergency Department (ED).

Method: PAPU was opened in January 2007. Data was recorded from RMH ED databases to compare ED lengths of stay (LOS) prior to and after establishing PAPU.