All referrals can be made by phoning LRH Mental Health Triage on 1300 363 322.

PECT is provided at LRH and responds to requests for urgent assistance (assessment and acute treatment).

The priority is to help a person to remain in or return to their local community as quickly as possible, if assessed as clinically safe and appropriate given the circumstances.

People who need a service response may be a child, young person, adult or older person. They may be seeking help for themselves or a family member. The service is also available to referrers such as General Practitioners (GPs), statutory services such as child protection and emergency services (Police and Ambulance).

A PECT response is generally required when the mental healthcare needs of a person are beyond family, friends or usual care approaches and when one or more of the following occurs;

• severe and acute psychological distress with risk of serious harm to the person or others
• rapid first onset illness and distress
• acute relapse of a pre-existing mental illness
• an unplanned presentation to a mental health service by an existing or recently discharged consumer because they are in psychiatric crisis
• recurrent presentation to an ED as a result of drug or alcohol intoxication and high-risk behaviour in the context of a probable mental illness.

The PECT has four key functions:

• mental healthcare in Emergency Departments and assessment in EDs across the Gippsland region, including activation of on call/recovery team clinician as per triage scales and the provision of telehealth assessments
• telephone triage: assessment through a clinical triage function using a state-wide triage scale to determine the urgency and nature of the response required
• MHaPR: A team of mental health clinicians working with the Victoria Police providing mental health and police response in the community
• consultation liaison psychiatry: collaborative care within the ED and the general hospital units of LRH and outlining EDs.

The PECT team is available 24/7 – all year around.