The RCSI Emergency Medicine Programme will today host The Open Door: Exploring Mental Health Emergency Care in Ireland.

This full-day national event, hosted at RCSI, will bring together patient representatives, leaders and frontline professionals from emergency care, mental health services, acute hospitals, community supports, research and policy to examine how Ireland responds to people in mental health crisis and to co-design a better future.

Against a backdrop of rising mental health presentations to emergency departments (EDs), The Open Door aims to create a shared space for dialogue, evidence review and practical solution-building. The event will feature expert presentations, facilitated breakout discussions, a design lab and panels exploring the realities, challenges and opportunities across the system.

Throughout the day, participants will review the latest data on patterns and drivers of ED attendances for self-harm, suicidal ideation and acute mental distress. Patient Representatives, contributors from the Mental Health Commission and the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicide-Related Ideation will outline the current landscape and highlight gaps that require urgent attention.

A key focus of the event will be the interface between emergency, acute hospital and community mental health services. Case studies including pathways for children and community crisis responses will illustrate both innovative practice and ongoing fragmentation. Stakeholders will examine what happens before, during and after an ED attendance, identifying opportunities to strengthen coordination, reduce unnecessary ED dependence and improve patient experience.

Rosa McNamara, Clinical Lead of the RCSI Emergency Medicine Programme, commented: “Right now, too many people in mental health crisis find themselves navigating a system that isn’t designed around their needs. The Open Door is about changing that by listening, learning and building together. Our goal to ensure that every person in crisis meets a compassionate, effective and timely response, no matter where they present.”

The Open Door represents an important national moment: by bringing diverse perspectives together, the event aims to lay the groundwork for a system where every person in crisis receives timely, appropriate, and compassionate care at the right door, the first time.