Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T15:29:22.592Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Treatment of Severe Psychiatric Illness in a Day Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Francis Creed ,
Philip Anthony ,
Ken Godbert  and
Peter Huxley
Francis Creed*
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Rawnsley Building, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL
Philip Anthony
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Rawnsley Building, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL
Ken Godbert
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Rawnsley Building, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL
Peter Huxley
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Rawnsley Building, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Severity of psychiatric illness was assessed using standardised clinical and social measures in 69 in-patients and 41 day patients admitted consecutively from the community. Day and in-patients differed little in terms of psychiatric symptoms and social disability, especially if compulsory admissions were excluded. Protection of self or others was a common reason for in-patient admission given by clinicians, who were otherwise prepared to treat seriously ill patients in the day hospital. Very few of the day patients had to be transferred to the in-patient facility, and at three months and one year the two groups showed similar improvements. It is concluded that day treatment is feasible for some seriously ill psychiatric patients, but a random-allocation study is required to assess more completely the efficacy of day treatment, and define the characteristics of those who require in-patient admission.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 3 , March 1989 , pp. 341 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bowman, E. P., Shelley, R. K., Sheehy-Skeffington, A., et al (1983) Day patient versus in-patient care: factors determining selection of acutely ill patients for hospital treatment. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 584–587.Google Scholar
Creed, F. H., Black, D. & Anthony, P. (1989) Day-hospital treatment for acute psychiatric illness. A critical appraisal. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 300–310.Google Scholar
Creed, F. H. & Anthony, P. (1989) Social and clinical change with day and in-patient treatment. (in preparation).Google Scholar
Department of Health and Social Security (1975) Better Services for the Mentally Ill (Cmnd 6233). London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Dick, P., Cameron, L., Cohen, D., et al (1985) Day and full time psychiatric treatment: a controlled comparison. British Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 246–250.Google Scholar
Fenton, R. F., Tessier, L. & Struenino, E. L. (1979) A comparative trial of home and hospital care. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 1073–1079.Google Scholar
Gath, D., Hassal, C. & Cross, K. W. (1973) Whither psychiatric day patients? A study of day patients in Birmingham. British Medical Journal, i, 94–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herz, N. I., Endicott, J., Spitzer, R. L., et al (1971) Day versus in-patient hospitalization: a controlled study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 1371–1382.Google Scholar
Hirsch, S. R., Platt, S., Knights, A., et al (1979) Shortening hospital stay for psychiatric care: effect on patients and their families. British Medical Journal, i, 442–446.Google Scholar
Hogarty, G. E., Dennis, H., Guy, W., et al (1968) Who goes there? – A critical evaluation of admissions to a psychiatric day hospital. American Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 934–944.Google Scholar
Hoult, J. (1986) Community care of the mentally ill. British Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 137–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knights, A., Hirsch, S. R. & Platt, S. D. (1980) Clinical change as a function of brief admission to hospital in a controlled study using the Present State Examination. British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 170–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrath, G. & Tantam, D. (1987) Long-stay patients in a psychiatric day hospital. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 836–840.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaux, M. H., Chelst, M. R., Foster, S. A., et al (1973) Post release adjustment of the day and full-time psychiatric patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 29, 647–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Platt, D. P., Knights, A. C. & Hirsch, S. R. (1980) Caution and conservatism in the use of a psychiatric day hospital: evidence from a research project that failed. Psychiatric Research, 3, 123–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Platt, D. P., Hirsch, S. R. & Knights, A. C. (1981) Effects of brief hospitalisation on psychiatric patients' behaviour and social functioning. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica, 63, 117–128.Google Scholar
Pryce, I. G. (1982) An expanding “stage army” of long stay psychiatric day patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 595–601.Google Scholar
Stein, L. I. & Test, M. A. (1980) Alternative to mental hospital treatment: 1. Conceptual model, treatment program, and clinical evaluation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 392–397.Google Scholar
Szmukler, G. I., Bird, A. S. & Button, E. J. (1981) Compulsory admissions in a London borough: I. Social and clinical features and a follow-up. Psychological Medicine, 11, 617–636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyrer, P. J. & Remington, M. (1979) Controlled comparison of day hospital and outpatient treatment for neurotic disorders. Lancet, i, 714–716.Google Scholar
Vaughan, P. (1983) The disordered development of day care in psychiatry. Health Trends, 15, 91–94.Google Scholar
Washburn, S., Vannicelli, M., Longabough, R., et al (1976) A controlled comparison of psychiatric day treatment and in-patient hospitalisation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 665–675.Google Scholar
Wilder, J. F., Levin, G. & Zwerling, I. (1966) A two-year follow-up evaluation of acute psychotic patients treated in a day hospital. American Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 1095–1101.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, G. (1984) Day care for patients with psychiatric disorders. British Medical Journal, 288, 1710–1711.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1972) The Measurement and Classification of Psychiatric Symptoms: an Instruction Manual for the Present State Examination and CATEGO Programme. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.