Frequent attenders with mental disorders at a general hospital emergency department.

Objectives: To define the clinical and demographic characteristics of frequent attenders with mental disorders at a general hospital ED; to determine whether those persons had additional attendances at other ED in the same city; and to assess the documented care of those frequent attenders.

Method: A retrospective descriptive study of those who attended the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville South, Australia ED on average at least once per month between 1 July 2006 and 15 March 2007.

Results: Of 11,594 attenders, 54 (0.