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Psychiatric emergencies: assessing parents of dependent children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Barbara Hatfield*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Social Work Research and Staff Development Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Jeni Webster
Affiliation:
Mental Health Social Work Research and Staff Development Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Hadi Mohamad
Affiliation:
Mental Health Social Work Research and Staff Development Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Frameworks within which services are delivered to people with mental health problems neglect the specific needs of those with dependent children. These children have been identified as having risks to their development and well-being. A system of monitoring social assessments of mental health crisis is used to examine the characteristics of parents assessed in seven Local Authorities across 3 calendar years. Parents of dependent children are underrepresented, and are more likely to be women and to suffer from affective psychosis. Ethnic minorities are over-represented. Parents are less likely to be detained following assessment. Further work is needed to establish whether the needs of the family as a whole are addressed.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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