With a significantly high reported domestic violence (DV) rate, the Shoalhaven does not have an afterhours psychosocial service for DV presentations. Analysis of one month of SDMH ED data indicated nine per cent of women presented with clinical indicators for domestic violence. Of these, 46 per cent received no psychosocial service.
A combined domestic violence and sexual assault (DVSA) on-call service was trialled to improve consultations by 70 per cent for DV after-hours presentations. Strategies included building the confidence levels of oncall and SDMH ED staff responding to DVSA after-hours.
Results showed significant increases in oncall staff confidence, and a 74 per cent increase in SDMH ED staff confidence to recognise and respond to these presentations. All after-hours DV presentations received appropriate psychosocial support within 24 hours of triage.
