As someone who are been through this. The first place they take you after triage at the ER is harsh, uncomfortable and at times dangerous for both staff and pa

As someone who are been through this. The first place they take you after triage at the ER is harsh, uncomfortable and at times dangerous for both staff and patients. All your stuff is taken away, you get a hospital shirt and pants, then taken to a room with few comforts. Usually, a doctor will do the minimum of triage (again) as you enter the unit, or sometime after. This is mostly to ascertain if you are likely to be a danger to yourselff and/or others. Which decides who much freedom you will have. Spending time in your room that does not have anything in the form of distraction / games / or anything else is boring. Walking around the unit, or the common room can be dangerous if one or more patients are admitted who are not safe to be around other people. These get moved or locked in usually pretty fast if possible. Some also have physical health emergencies. One guy who was brought in had a rotting foot that required emergency treatment. What I saw of it was a worthy of a horror movie, and the stench was considerable. And yes you get people who sling fleeces, vomit violently, Staying in your room is a reasonably good idea. Then you have people who are actively suicidal or self harming. That will get you a dedicated nurse who stares at you / observes you at all times (at a safe distance with an alarm button) (if staffing allows). Usually the next workday, (which is Monday if you are admitted on Friday) a doctor will come to perform a more thorough assessment and figure out a temporary list og diagnoses and a decision on where to move you. This might involve a second doctor / psychologist if its a complicated case Then you get put on a list of what / where to move you when that unit has space available. (if they already do, you are moved as soon as possible) otherwise, you get to wait for a while. So its harsh, uncomfortable, a bit dangerous, and sub optimal but I have learned why it is like this and I dont see a way to alter it that is ideal for everyone. The nurses at the intake are hardcore. They have seen it all many times and it takes a lot to impress them, thrown them off. People having a psychotic break, streams all forms of nonsense, threats, paranoid delusions and they are not impressed. They are also usually fairly nice if they agree you are not dangerous to be around. ER is not a place for treatment of mental illness, nor can it be. It takes people in and do their best to keep the person safe (Usually from killing themselves, sometimes for the staff to be safe) and a temporary diagnosis. You are then either considered well enough to leave and get back to the real world, or sent to a long term care unit, which is a hell of a lot nicer that will start treatment, full diagnosis and so on.