Beschreibung:
<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective:</jats:title><jats:p> Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to high levels of psychological distress in the community. This study aimed to examine whether emergency departments (EDs) also recorded a rise in mental health presentations. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method:</jats:title><jats:p> Changes in the number, and type, of mental health presentations to Western Australia EDs were examined between January and May 2020, and compared to 2019. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results:</jats:title><jats:p> Data showed an unexpected decrease in the number of mental health presentations, compared to 2019, which was temporally coincident with the rise in local COVID-19 cases. Presentations for anxiety and panic symptoms, and social and behavioural issues, increased by 11.1% and 6.5%, respectively, but suicidal and self-harm behaviours decreased by 26%. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion:</jats:title><jats:p> A rise in local COVID-19 cases was associated with a decrease in mental health presentations to EDs. This has important implications for the planning and provision of healthcare services in the current pandemic. </jats:p></jats:sec>