They just had a thing on the news last night that a man in my state has been in the ER for 23 days so far waiting for a psychiatric bed. Last time I went IP I waited only 6 days and thought that was way too long. I can't imagine being in that empty room doing nothing, receiving no treatment for over three weeks.
How long did you wait in the ER before being transferred to a psych unit?

Here's the link if anyone's interested: Shortage of mental health beds forces man into ER for 22 days

[bpktvikesfan]

Originally Posted by spikes

They just had a thing on the news last night that a man in my state has been in the ER for 23 days so far waiting for a psychiatric bed. Last time I went IP I waited only 6 days and thought that was way too long. I can't imagine being in that empty room doing nothing, receiving no treatment for over three weeks.
How long did you wait in the ER before being transferred to a psych unit?

i had virtually no wait any of the times I have gone IP. That is absolutely horrible, i would not have lasted 6 days waiting....I am sorry for this man and i am sorry for you to have happen.

[Blueberrybook]

Usually there would be a small wait for me too, but I was usually at the pdoc's when they decided I needed hospitalization ASAP and not the ER, and usually there were no beds at first, but they would get me one by the end of the day.

[wildflowerchild25]

I’ve never had to wait more than a day or so for a bed. I’m lucky though, there are several psych hospitals in my area.

spike, I'm so sorry you've had such long waits in the ER waiting for a bed in a psych hospital. The story you told about the man's extreme wait is terrible! From my years visiting bipolar forums it has been quite clear that mental healthcare, including waits, and other details, are not the same from state to state. I know such things are also different in various countries.

I live in a mid-Atlantic state in the US. There is a large population in my state, and many resources and hospitals within fairly short distances. Not that it is always easy to find mental health providers that take insurance or have no waiting lists, there are many mental health providers and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs). Fortunately, there are also many hospitals with beds for people in mental health crises (I have no clue how many), most taking most insurance types. There is also a state psychiatric hospital, which I believe sometimes takes people with no insurance or people who need exceedingly long stays of many months or even longer? I happen to live within 20 minutes of two psychiatric only hospitals where stays are usually between four days and two months. One is even only a 15 minute walk from my house. Other hospitals do have psychiatric wings that keep patients a couple days to a week or two (and provide therapy groups, etc), but others just have psych ERs that transfer to psych hospitals. I've never heard of anyone staying in a psych ER, in my state, for more than 2 days.

I have had 10 psychiatric hospitalizations in the past. I have only entered a psych hospital from a hospital ER for two of those hospitalizations. In one of the cases, I waited just overnight (12 hours) in their psych ER wing to be transferred to a nearby psych hospital. In the other case, I was in the ER (that hospital didn't have a designated psych ER at the time) for maybe ??? 2-5 hours ??? before being transferred to a nearby psych hospital.

Most of my psych hospitalizations were from referrals from Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs), which I usually attended after a hospitalization (I was too sick for the IOP), or from private outpatient psychiatrists that I was seeing who called to get me in. In the former cases (five?), I usually waited no longer than 2 hours or so, and the psych hospital was literally a two minute drive from the IOP. In the latter cases (three), I usually waited until the next day, usually waiting from home with my husband with me (if I wasn't in imminent danger).

One of the psych hospitals I went to would occasionally add a cot into a double room, making it a temporary triple. I think they only did that when there was a patient (one time me) that was so severe that a wait elsewhere was not a good idea, despite beds being full.

[*Laurie*]

I was always sent into IP straight from my pdoc's office, so no wait. Once I had to travel to the psych hospital in the back of a cop car, though, which I felt ashamed of. I will say that the officer could not have been kinder.

I'm in Canada, but my longest wait for a bed was 7 hours. The hospital also had a special psych area in the ER. So it was basically a unit in itself, locked, safe rooms and such.

[Nammu]

It's like that where I live too. There was a big write up on how they sent people hours away from their home towns and a few time people were sent to other states cause there's so few psych hospital beds. I think the longest here was only 16 days.....only 16 days, what am I saying! One day is too much to wait in crisis at an ER. And under trump they will probably tell insurance they no longer need to cover MH cause it is a preexisting condition.

[BipolaRNurse]

I only had to wait 6 hours in the ER, so I feel very fortunate. I didn't like being transported in a police car, but they don't want you jumping out of a moving vehicle (you can't open the door from the inside). I can't imagine waiting for a bed for over three weeks!

[HALLIEBETH87]

I waited over night once. Transfered on 72 hr hold bc of OD.

[Aviza]

The most I waited was a night.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I waited 36 hours once and then once I was transferred the resident forgot about me and I wasn't done with my evaluation until after midnight. The nurse was new and wouldn't let me have my things or shower until I saw the resident so I wound up begging to be allowed to shower at 12:30 AM while waiting for the meds I was finally allowed to arrive from the pharmacy. I thought that was bad and learned to never go in on a Sunday if possible but 23 days is unimaginable. My ER gives the same food tray every meal; I hope he is getting something different than cold hamburgers and an apple twice a day.

[tecomsin]

I also live in Canada and I've never gotten to the ward in the same day. The longest wait in ER was 5 days, the shortest 3. Only cold sandwiches to eat.

Originally Posted by tecomsin

I also live in Canada and I've never gotten to the ward in the same day. The longest wait in ER was 5 days, the shortest 3. Only cold sandwiches to eat.

I know we are in the same relative neck of the woods. Can I ask which hospital? PM me if you prefer. Only if you are comfortable.

[Unrigged64072835]

It's been 8-10 hours in the ER for me. Where I live there are four psych hospitals or centers. One time during Thanksgiving everything was full so they sent me an hour away from home.

I was sent once in a cop car from my pdoc's office, but the officer was nice and the cuffs weren't tight.

23 days is absurd, but not any more absurd than being told you're doing it for attention and being sent home with nothing.

[Cocosurviving]

Great topic! It’s been since 2013 I was in the hospital. I drove to the mental health hospital that my insurance coveraged. They have an interview process then they had me wait in a waiting area for a bed on one of their units. It took about 4 hours. They did give me food and a blanket.

[Calla lily12]

The longest I've waited was about 1 hour to be medically cleared.

[hopeless2015]

Usually around 8 hours here. I think this 8s the only hospital with a psychiatric floor in about a 500 miles radius from what I can tell and based on location of where the other patients have been from

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I waited 36 hours once and then once I was transferred the resident forgot about me and I wasn't done with my evaluation until after midnight. The nurse was new and wouldn't let me have my things or shower until I saw the resident so I wound up begging to be allowed to shower at 12:30 AM while waiting for the meds I was finally allowed to arrive from the pharmacy. I thought that was bad and learned to never go in on a Sunday if possible but 23 days is unimaginable. My ER gives the same food tray every meal; I hope he is getting something different than cold hamburgers and an apple twice a day.

In the state of Oklahoma if you have no insurance or Medicaid. You will be sent to a state mental hospital. There they serve the same food the state penitentiary receives. I had to go once before I was approved for my SSDI it was God awful. I’ve never been to jail and did not know the food would be that terrible.