Mental health service users often use emergency services and emergency departments (EDs) at a higher rate than the average member of the public. It has been proposed that a multiagency approach, encompassing emergency services, the ED, liaison psychiatry, local social services, approved mental health practitioners, substance misuse services and the acute mental health team, may lead to a more appropriate interaction with mental health services and a reduction in crisis contact with other agencies. This article describes how a practitioner has been appointed for 12 months to coordinate care planning for the complex client group of people with mental health problems who are high-intensity users of emergency services. It is hoped that at the end of this period there will be a measurable reduction in their use of emergency services and the ED, and increased contact with crisis mental health services.