Aug. 18--Forsyth Medical Center ranked third in North Carolina in the number of people who had to wait at least 48 hours to be admitted for treatment of mental-health issues.
The Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness released a breakdown yesterday of people waiting in private hospitals for an available bed at a state hospital.
Forsyth had 83 people waiting at least two days, with all but six of them held for six or fewer days. However, one person was kept for 23 days; another for six.
Forsyth officials said they need to study the data before commenting on it. Only Duke University Medical Center, with 92 people, and WakeMed, with 86, were ahead of Forsyth.
The longer waits come at a time when more people who lack health insurance are turning to emergency rooms for primary care.
The high number of people waiting in Forsyth County health-care facilities is unfortunate but not surprising, said Laurie Coker, the director of the N.C. Consumer Advocacy, Networking and Support Organization.
"It is a symptom of the ill-planned development of a service system which is supposed to be responsive to community need -- filling service gaps so that people are met and helped before the crisis," said Coker, who serves as a local advocate.
The group released a preliminary report on Aug. 6 that covered the first half of 2010. It was based on data from the state's four public psychiatric hospitals.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center had 37 cases of people waiting at least 48 hours to be admitted for treatment of mental-health issues, with all but four kept for five or fewer days. Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services had 29 cases, with 17 kept for six or fewer days. Both facilities monitored one person for 23 days, while Old Vineyard had two more stay for 19 days. In the region, the longest stay was 33 days at Northern Hospital in Mount Airy.
The initial report found that 3,339 people statewide were put on a waiting list. Of those, at least 44 percent waited for at least two days. Some of these patients spend their wait in beds. Others are restrained if they are considered dangerous to themselves or others.
In many instances, the patient has been taken into custody through an involuntary commitment. In such cases, state law requires that a law-enforcement officer stay with the patient until it is determined that a doctor or eligible psychologist is available to do an examination.
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