In my role as an NHS psychiatrist I work on wards in an inpatient unit, as an on-call doctor, and I also treat adults and children who have been referred to me by A&E staff because I’m also part of a liaison psychiatry service – a mental health team attached to an emergency department.
I see a fair number of under-18s who have presented in distress at A&E in a mental health crisis seeking support and have been brought in by their family, friends or an ambulance crew.
