[Psychiatric patients at the police station in the southern South Holland region: assessment by the District Health Service forensic doctor].

Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of ambulant psychiatric patients who were either brought to the police station or who came by themselves, but who were not kept in a cell, as a basis for the development of a reception protocol.

Design: Descriptive.

Method: The data from the medical records from 2000 kept by the forensic doctors employed by the district health services for the Southern South Holland region were inventoried.