Guidelines for dealing with student psychological and/or medical emergencies

Transcription

1 Guidelines for dealing with student psychological and/or medical emergencies When seriously concerned for a student s psychological/physical well being the first task is to try to establish how serious the situation is. Is the student at risk of hurting him/herself or others? Is there a risk of suicide? (Is the student expressing suicidal thoughts? Has the student attempted suicide?) Is the student threatening self harm? Is the student out of touch with reality? Is the student behaving bizarrely/unduly agitated or aggressive / very drowsy or ill? If you are concerned about any of the above, immediate action must be taken. 1. Try not to deal with an emergency alone. If possible, seek the help of another colleague. If uncertain about what to do, consult with a professional staff member in the Counselling & Personal Development Service (5165/5161) or the Health Service (5143/5766). 2. If the student is very aggressive or threatening, seek help from security (ext. 5999).The Head of Security or the Duty Supervisor will contact the Gardaí on 999 or 112 if required. 3. If the situation is life threatening (e.g. over dose is estimated or definite), contact the Head of Security or the Duty Supervisor (ext 5999). S/he will contact emergency services as necessary on 999 or 112. If the incident occurs within office hours, also contact the Health Service (ext. 5143/5766) to seek advice/help until the ambulance arrives. 4. Once the student is secure, contact the Director of Student Support & Development (ext 5164), to facilitate an appropriate systems follow up plan to be put in place. An Emergency Case Conference will take place involving the Director of Student Support & Development, the Head of the Health Service and the Head of the Counselling & Personal Development Service to decide: (i) (ii) The main point of contact for the co ordination of the care plan for the student. A systems management plan (a) decisions about who needs to be contacted are assessed on a case by case basis (b) what tasks relevant to the situation may need to be put in place (assistance with flights, visas, accommodation, finance etc)

2 5. If steps 2 and 3 are not applicable to the situation, talk to the student yourself or arrange for another member of staff to do so. Make the student aware of your concern and the basis for that concern. 6. Clarify whether the student is already seeing a professional within University (Counsellor, Psychiatrist, G.P.) If yes contact the relevant Service, explain your concerns and the level of the student s stress and arrange an urgent appointment. 7. If the student is not prepared to attend the Health Service or the Counselling Service, explain to them gently that, as you have concerns for their welfare, or that of others, you will have to consult with the Counselling & Personal Development Service (ext. 5165/5161) or the Health Service (ext. 5143/5766). Give the student a choice as to who they would prefer you to contact in the first instance. However, it is a matter for the student to choose whether to accept or refuse a referral. If a referral is not taken up immediately, contact the Counselling & Personal Development Service and/or the Health Service, requesting an urgent consultation to plan the next required action. 8. As a follow up, arrange to see the student again if/when appropriate.

3 Out of hours Assistance for Psychological / Medical Emergencies In the event that the emergency takes place out of normal office hours, the Head of Security or the Duty Supervisor should be contacted (ext 5999). 1. S/he will contact the emergency services as necessary at 999 or S/he will provide the guards and/or medical services with the next of kin or any biographical information required should the student be unable to provide this information him/herself. 3. S/he shall assist in arranging short term suitable accommodation and/or travel arrangements, should this be necessary. 4. At the next possible opportunity the Director of Student Support & Development should be informed about the situation (ext 5164). S/he will call an Emergency Case Conference involving the Director of Student Support and Development, The Head of Security, the Head of the Health Service and the Head of the Counselling and Personal Development Service to decide an appropriate care and systems follow up plan.

4 Appendix (for Emergency Case Conference) 1. The Emergency Case Conference Team will decide who of the following people may need to be informed about the situation : a. Psychologist/Psychotherapist/Counsellor/ GP/Psychiatrist/(internal/external) b. Next of kin 1 (if not already informed) c. Head of Security (in all cases) d. The President (in all cases) e. Deputy President (in all cases) f. Secretary g. Vice President for Teaching & Learning h. Vice President for Research i. Head of Accommodation j. Head of School k. Dean of School l. Chairperson of Programme m. Supervisor (for research students) 2. The following may need to be organised by the Contact Person: a. Contact with the next of kin in Ireland and/or in the home country of the student b. Contact with the guards (in consultation with the Head of Security) c. Contact with the hospital (via the Health Centre) re anything which they may require d. Assistance with flights for family members to come to Ireland, if required e. Organisation of Visas for the family, if the student is a Non EU student (communication with the International Office, in this case) f. Organisation of Accommodation for visiting family members g. Contact with any known friends of the student, in case support is needed h. Communication with the Finance Office for clarification on insurance policy, if required at this point i. Communication with the Registry, to note the situation on the student s file, if necessary 1 This detail is available for the majority of students. Currently students are requested to provide this information as part of the online registration and students can update this at any time through their portal pages. Registry is currently exploring ways of obtaining the missing data for relevant students.

5 HOW TO RESPOND TO A STUDENT IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND/OR MEDICAL CRISIS Staff member concerned about well being of student Life Threatening Emergency (e.g. overdose/confirmed or estimated) Inform Security (5999) (they will contact ambulance/gardaí 999 or 112 if required) Inform Health Service (5143/5766) Inform Director of Student Support & Development (5164) Non Emergency If withdrawn, low in mood, tearful or unduly anxious, has a sudden deterioration in academic performance and does not display features considered an emergency. Emergency If threatening, very aggressive contact security (5999) If suicidal/threatening self harm, expressing bizarre thoughts/ideas, out of touch with reality Explain your concerns to student If your discussion with the student leads you to believe their upset is more than transitory, ask are they seeing a professional at DCU: If yes, contact that professional, explain concerns and arrange appointment. If no, suggest and organise appointment with Counselling (5165/5161) or with the Health Service (5143/5766) If student is not willing to accept help organise a follow up meeting and monitor. Mention support again. Consult colleague, try not to act alone. Explain concern to student (unless you believe this will inflame the situation) Ask are they seeing a college professional. If yes, contact that professional, explain concerns. If no, suggest and organise appointment with Counselling Service (5165/5161) or with the Health Service (5143/5766) Consider accompanying student to appointment. If student not willing to accept help, outline concerns about their/others safety, explain your need to consult with Counselling or Health Service. For out of hours assistance contact Security (5999) and, at next possible opportunity, contact the Director of Student Support & Development (5164). Contact Details Security Health Service /5766 Counselling & Personal Development Service /5161 Director of Student Support & Development

6 Acknowledgements Student Mental Health Policy University College Cork March 2009 Student Mental Health Policy and Guidelines Trinity College Dublin 2008