Emergency Department (ED) Clinical Pathway for Children and Youth with Mental Health Conditions

Last updated on March 26, 2022

The ED Clinical Pathway for Children and Youth with Mental Health Conditions and the related decision-support tools were developed to guide and support the care of children and youth who present to an ED with mental health or addiction issues. The Clinical Pathway also includes a process that facilitates a seamless transition to follow-up services with appropriate community-based agencies.

These resources are intended to enhance the capacity of the health system by using protocols that ensure anyone discharged from an ED has a stabilization plan and, if necessary, receives timely follow-up.

Download the ED Clinical Pathway Toolkit. The Appendices and related documents can be found below.

Appendices

1a – Clinical Pathway Algorithm – Update posted June 2018

1b – ED Clinical Pathway Form – Update posted December 2017

1c – HEADS ED Online Tool and Resources

2a – Caregiver Perception Surveys (CPS) – Update posted December 2017

2b – Youth Perception Survey (YPS) – Update posted December 2017

3 – Ask Suicide Screening Questions (ASQ-5) – Update posted December 2017

4 – Paediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC17) English and French – Update posted December 2017

5 – Order Set for Chemical Restraint in the ED – Update posted December 2017

6 – Child and Youth Mental Health Clinician Screening Form

7 – Child and Youth Mental Health Clinician Role Description

8 – Environmental Assessment for Implementation Readiness

9 – Memorandum of Agreement (Sample)

10 – Implementation Slide Deck

View the abstract of a paper about this work published in the July 2018 issue of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America.