'Very hit and miss': an interpretive phenomenological analysis of ambulance service care for young people experiencing mental health crisis.

Introduction: The ambulance service provides vital front line mental healthcare for young people in crisis, but there is a lack of evidence to guide best practice in this area. The lived experiences of service users can offer important insights to guide service development, therefore we carried out a qualitative evaluation of care provided by the ambulance service to young people experiencing a mental health-related emergency.

Methods: Ten participants aged 16-25 years who had used the ambulance service due to a mental health crisis within the past 2 years were interviewed about their experiences and view of the care they received.