Detention Orders: Are They Being Used as They Were Meant?
Detention orders are an everyday occurrence in the work of mental health clinicians in the emergency department, but what is the impact on workload for the clinician given that many of these are revoked on first examination by a consultant pyschiatrist. Are detention orders understood? And are they used as they were meant?
This paper examines situations in an emergency department where detention orders were made, whether they were confirmed or revoked, the impact on the workload for the mental health clinician and presents a discussion on the value of further education as to their use.