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Good practice issues in psychiatric intensive-care units

Findings from a national survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Stephen Pereira*
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Trust, Bexley Hospital, Old Bexley Lane, Bexley, Kent DA5 2BW
M. Dominic Beer
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Trust, Bexley Hospital, Old Bexley Lane, Bexley, Kent DA5 2BW
Carol Paton
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Trust, Bexley Hospital, Old Bexley Lane, Bexley, Kent DA5 2BW
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

To survey some aspects of care relevant to good practice in psychiatric intensive-care units.

Results

A number of areas of concern were identified, including care issues for informal and female patients, a lack of uniform clinical leadership and a paucity of policies/guidelines for high-risk areas of clinical practice.

Clinical implications

In an attempt to provide a service for the most disturbed patients from widely varying sources, psychiatric intensive-care units are at risk of compromising the ability to provide good-quality clinical care.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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