The Psychiatric Triage Service is a telephone
psychiatric crisis and referral service accessible via
1300 363 788
(local call cost from anywhere in Victoria)

 
The Psychiatric Triage Service acts as a single point of entry for all referrals into Bendigo Health Psychiatric Services and provides you with immediate telephone access to an experienced, highly skilled mental health clinician.

In an urgent situation, which places anyone in danger,

it is important that you contact emergency services FIRST

by calling 000

The Psychiatric Triage Service:

• Provides 24 hour psychiatric crisis advice
• Acts as a single point of entry into psychiatric services
• Accepts and screens all referrals for mental health services from the Loddon Campaspe/Southern Mallee region
• Facilitates and screens admissions to inpatient units
• Makes a screening assessment based on the available information, provides advice or options to deal with the situation, or negotiates how, when and where a psychiatric response will be offered.

Referral

There is no referral form for the triage service, all information can be given over the phone.

If the patient is to be seen subsequently by a particular, nominated psychiatrist as part of the service response, as the patient’s GP you may be asked to provide a routine written referral as you would to any other specialist.

Psychiatric Crisis Assessment & Treatment Team:

• 08:30 hrs – 22:30 hrs/seven days a week
• An after hours, on call function is available 22:30 hrs – 08:30 hrs to the Bendigo Health Emergency Department and Bendigo police station.

In parts of the catchment outside of the Bendigo area, each of our rural clinics provides a PCATT-type service, but only during normal office hours.

After hours there is a limited on-call function to a number of rural hospital emergency departments and police stations.

The purpose of PCATT is to:

• Arrange and conduct crisis psychiatric assessments
• Provide a comprehensive acute psychiatric treatment service in the least restrictive environment (where possible, in the patient’s home) using a setting which is familiar to the patient and maximises the use of supports available within the patient’s own community and social environment
• Work collaboratively with patients and their families or carers in the assessment and treatment of mental disorders
• Facilitate collaborative and seamless transfer of care to other services when appropriate
• Facilitate and screen admissions to inpatient units.

For further information, click here for the PCATT home page.

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