25% of mental health patients out within a week

A QUARTER of all psychiatric patients admitted to hospitals last year were discharged within a week.

Two-thirds were back at home within a month.

These figures were released yesterday in the Health Research Board’s annual report on psychiatric admissions.

It revealed there was a 4% drop (to 20,288) in patients referred to institutions and dedicated general hospital units in 2006 — the lowest since 1971.

There were 5,601 new admissions, representing the smallest number of first-time patients entering mental health units for more than 45 years.

Principal investigator at the board, Dr Dermot Walsh, said the figures represent a move away from institutional care.

“We have seen this trend develop over the past 10 years. Almost half of discharges occurred within two weeks of patients being admitted, nearly seven out of 10 were discharged within four weeks and more than nine out of 10 people were discharged within three months of being admitted.

“Shorter periods of inpatient care could be attributed to the increased provision of community care alternatives to inpatient treatment,” he said.

However, board statistics removed long-stay patients from these calculations as they would unfairly disrupt the figures and prevent accurate comparisons with research from other countries.

In the long-stay category, it revealed 306 patients in psychiatric units in 2006 had been there for more than a year.

A total of 124 people were in units for more than five years and 55 people have been in psychiatric hospitals since at least 1982 — a fifth of these are being kept against their will. It also showed 161 people died in psychiatric care last year.

A breakdown of age showed 13% of patients were over 65 years of age.

The figures also revealed the number of children being kept in psychiatric care without the proper facilities.

Last year, 253 children under 18 were admitted and 157 of these were taken into general adult hospitals.

Yesterday, the Health Service Executive’s acting clinical director of child and adolescent psychiatric care, Dr Brendan Doody, admitted the provision of services in this sector was not sufficient.

He said of 98 community mental health teams proposed under the Government’s Vision for Change document, only 47 were in place and many of these could not fill all the necessary professional disciplines required.

He said in the area of greatest need the service was at its weakest.

This situation was criticised by Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly who was speaking at the National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght yesterday: “I am very concerned that children continue to be treated in adult facilities, and believe that it is imperative that the treatment of those under 18 in adult wards is brought to an end.”

Last night junior minister with responsibility for mental health, Jimmy Devins, defended the Government’s record and said it was on target to implement its ambitious Vision for Change programme in its 10-year timeframe.