THE WORK OF A PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY CLINIC.
The majority of patients attending The Maudsley Hospital Emergency Clinic do not differ significantly in diagnostic groups or behaviour from those attending routine outpatients. It is suggested that the most useful functions of the Clinic are the assessment of the need for admission or other urgent treatment, the correct allocation of patients to available services, and the prompt assumption of clinical responsibility for the patient. Attention is drawn to a group of patients who, for a variety of reasons, fail to consult their family doctor and refer themselves spontaneously to the clinic instead.