Psychiatric Emergencies (Oxford Handbooks in Emergency Medicine)

An accessible and authoritative guide to the immediate management of the full range of psychiatric problems presented in emergency departments, this handbook is arranged by symptoms rather than diagnoses. As such it offers the reader a systematic guide through asessment and diagnosis, immediate investigations and management, and treatment as far as transferral to specialist departments. The authors include an introductory section on eliciting and recording the psychiatric history of a patient and then consider - in alphabetical order - the management of common psychiatric presentations. A final section looks at legal matters, including the use of common law and the Mental Health Act and liaison with other statutory services, in particular the police and social services.