A Five-Year Outcome of Discharged Chronic Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

mean age of 49; 228 were over 65 years of age, with a mean age of 75. Two hundred and ninety-three were male and 215 were female. Seventy-two per cent were diagnosed as schizophrenic, the rest having other diagnoses, for example, affective psychosis, senile psychosis, epilepsy or mental deficiency. The average length of hospitalization for the entire group was 21 years with a range of 2 to 52 years.Of those under 65 years of age, 29 per cent went to live with relatives, 33 per cent were sent to boarding homes, 6 per cent were housed in nursing homes and the rest were living with employers, alone or in Salvation Army hostels. In the over 65-year age group, 9 per cent went to live with relatives, 43 per cent were sent to boarding homes, 39 per cent were placed in nursing homes and 9 per cent in other accommodations.Within the five-year follow-up period 127 patients had died -105 were over 65 years of age with a mean age at the time of death of 78 years. All died of natural causes, except two whose deaths were accidental -one in a house fire and the other as a result of asphyxiation. No one had committed suicide. Four patients could not be traced and 34 had moved out of the province.Of the remaining 343 patients who were alive and residing in the province, 55 per cent had remained continuously in the community during the follow-up period, and 45 per cent had one or more admissions to the psychiatric hospital.Of the readmitted patients 74 per cent spent twelve months or less in the hospital. Ninety per cent had four or fewer readmissions. Fifty-four per cent were readmitted within the first twelve months after discharge. 433 discharged, age, with a

Mental hospital and general hospital psychiatric units: a comparison of services within the same geographic area

“…The proportion of total psychiatric admissions to the mental hospital has dropped from 42-7% (891) in 1968 to 27-3% (793) in 1976, with a concurrent increase in admissions to general hospitals from 57-3% (1200) to 72-7% (2113). Similar changes have occurred in the delivery of psychiatric services in other parts of Canada and the United States (Herjanic et al 1968;Fakhruddin et al 1972;Greenblatt & Glazier, 1975;Cotton et al 1979).…”

The effect of a mental hospital strike on general hospital psychiatric services

“…The growth of general hospital units and enthusiasm about transferring care of the mentally ill from the mental hospitals to the community have led to the dissolution of many mental hospitals (Ahmed & Plog, 1976;DHSS, 913 1971; Fakhruddin et al 1972;Greenblatt & Glazier, 1975;Herjanicef a/. 1968).…”