According to "[a] survey of hundreds of U.S. hospitals released last month by the American College of Emergency Physicians,...79 percent reported that they routinely 'boarded' psychiatric patients in their waiting rooms for at least some period of time because of the unavailability of immediate services."

Approximately 33 percent "reported that those stays averaged at least eight hours, and six percent said they had average waits of more than 24 hours for the next step in a patient's care." Some communities face "shortages of clinicians, and few open beds at psychiatric hospitals." Occasionally, "insurance companies refuse to approve treatment, and patients must wait while doctors appeal." And, "[o]ther times, patients aren't sick enough to need inpatient care, but would be lost if discharged to the street.

Finding a program to look after them can take days, doctors said." HealthDay (7/6) reprised the AP's coverage of the story.

Related Links:
- "Some psych patients wait days in hospital ERs," David Caruso, Associated Press, July 4, 2008.