Saint-Denis psychiatric emergency centre model to be replicated across France

The Centre renforcé d'urgences psychiatriques (Crup) opened at the Delafontaine hospital in Saint‑Denis, Seine‑Saint‑Denis, at the end of 2023. Designed to calm patients arriving in acute psychiatric crisis at general emergency departments, the unit provides a quiet, light‑filled environment with white corridors and clear rooms. Patients aged 16 and over are transferred to the Crup for 24 to 72 hours, during which they are assessed, treated and referred, with an emphasis on minimal restraint and suicide prevention. "You hear? There's much less noise here," said Dr Fayçal Mouaffak, who championed the project. Staff member Saliha Rahoui described the aim: "The principle of the Crup is to calm tensions, reduce patient suffering, so they can arrive in serenity to another unit or home." The centre is staffed by Dr Fayçal Mouaffak, Dr Nadia Cheffi (head of the Crup) and a multidisciplinary team. The model is being praised as a pioneering approach to psychiatric care in France and plans are under way to duplicate the Crup in other hospitals nationwide.