Mentally ill patients idle for hours and even days in emergency rooms waiting for treatment, while patients with medical problems rarely experience these holdups, according to a study of 10 Massachusetts hospitals released Wednesday.
Patients who arrived at the emergency room with a medical issue and then required admission to the hospital were there about four hours. Patients with mental illness, however, routinely were stuck for 16 to 21 hours on average waiting for a spot in a psychiatric hospital or unit.
