Involuntary psychiatric attendances at an Australasian emergency department: A comparison of police and health-care worker initiated presentations.

Objective: To identify any significant differences in the population of patients brought in to a hospital ED under involuntary mental health orders, based on whether the orders are initiated by police or health professionals.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive presentations to a tertiary hospital ED with a co-located psychiatric emergency care centre over a 12 month period, with univariate and multivariate statistical comparisons.

Results: Two hundred and eighty-two patients (making 378 ED presentations) met the case definition and were analysed.