BLACKBURN hospital’s emergency department has been trialling a new system to ensure patients with mental health problems are seen more quickly by psychiatric teams.

It comes after just half of patients needing care from the Crisis mental health team were referred within two hours in December, with the hospital now aiming to meet this target in 90 per cent of cases.

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Mental health care within the department has come under intense scrutiny following the tragic death of Burnley mum Jackie Williams in January, who was found hanged in a room at A&E.

Her family said she was a ‘known suicide risk’ and were devastated that she was seemingly left alone in a side room.

Her inquest is due to be heard on April 15.

There has been no clear improvement on the referral measure since last summer, when the Care Quality Commission told East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), which runs the Royal Blackburn, to work more effectively with mental health workers to reduce delays.

However, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which employs the Crisis teams, said it was now meeting a separate target for 90 per cent of patients to be seen within one hour of being referred.

Bosses at the two organisations held a meeting this week to discuss progress, including a new electronic tool to allow for direct referrals from the A&E triage nurse.

Gillian Simpson, director of operations at ELHT, said performance on the measure had been affected by the extra pressure on the emergency department during winter, and added: “The trust, like most others, has experienced unprecedented A&E attendances over the winter period which resulted in a drop in performance against some targets.”

Sue Moore, chief operating officer at Lancashire Care, said: “The trust is committed to ensuring that patients in A&E who require mental health services are not waiting longer than they should be.....We are are working with East Lancashire Hospital Trust, Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England to progress this.”