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The impact of an expanding community mental health service on patterns of bed usage: evaluation of a four-year period of implementation.
- Source :
-
Psychological medicine [Psychol Med] 1982 Feb; Vol. 12 (1), pp. 177-90. - Publication Year :
- 1982
-
Abstract
- In the city of Mannheim the introduction of an extensive community mental health service has been shown, by means of case-register data over 41/2 years, to have led to a considerable increase in utilization, mainly at the out-patient level of care. The rates of admission to hospital increased very little. Due to the simultaneous decline in long-term bed occupancy, the overall need for psychiatric beds remained stable at a rate of about 1.2/1000, a rate which is very low by international standards. The sharp decline in the "old' long-stay population was followed by a smaller increase in "new' long-stay patients which it has not been possible to prevent. These patients are, however, admitted for a long-term stay significantly later than formerly, and their diagnostic composition has changed significantly. The increase in the bed requirements for short- and medium-term stay patients resulted from different sources: an increasing morbidity in some groups of disorders, the rising utilization in case of emergencies and severe crises, and the transfer of long-stay patients to alternative care services. The level of these needs was very similar in Mannheim, Salford, Samsø and Camberwell, whereas the rates for long-term beds still show clear national differences.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0033-2917
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Psychological medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 7079427
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700043439