A REPORTED rise in the number of patients presenting to Swan
Hill hospital with disturbing behaviours, often caused by illicit drug use, has
prompted plans for a new Behavioural Assessment Room (BAR) at the
facility.
The room would receive patients displaying behaviours dangerous to
themselves and others — such as patients under the influence of drugs or
alcohol, or with severe mental illness.
Accessed from the rear of the
hospital, the room would temporarily isolate patients from other emergency
department activities.
The planned redevelopment would also shift storage
rooms next to the BAR, allowing for an added consulting room.
Funding for the
proposal, which was developed during a meeting between Swan Hill Health and
Bendigo Health, has not yet been secured.
Swan Hill District Health chief
executive officer Ted Rayment said the room was “badly needed” to address what
he believed was a rise in people with disturbing behaviours presenting at the
emergency department.
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian (19/4/13).
