Clients presenting for mental health assessment may have medical conditions that either contribute to the presentation, require emergent treatment or affect the choice of therapy that follows any admission to Hospital for a mental illness.

Screening for pathology such as substance abuse, trauma and metabolic or electrolyte imbalances must be carried out before the diagnosis of a mental illness may be confidently made.

The consequences of not detecting these conditions is particularly significant as most Mental Health Inpatient Units are typically not well equipped to monitor or care for these pathologies.

A retrospective study of 100 consecutive Mental Health Admissions to Dubbo Base Hospital was conducted and data concerning the type of medical screening performed and the results were compiled and analysed. The screening included physical examination, radiological imaging and general pathology testing.

The findings indicated that there was a lack of uniformity in the approach to medical assessment of mental health patients that may have resulted in relevant organic pathologies not being appropriately detected. The findings also indicated that, in a significant number of cases, organic pathology played an important role in both the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of a number of these patients.

It was concluded that a standard set of routine investigations be carried out on all Mental Health admissions and that the results of the investigations carried out did considerably influence either the diagnosis or treatment of a significant number of the patients in the study group.