Psychiatric assessment wards for older adults: a qualitative evaluation of two ward models

This study was requested to investigate the relative strengths of two different ward arrangements. Both wards were psychiatric assessment wards for people over the age of 65 and both were mixed sex wards. The major focus was to examine if the separation of cognitively impaired (CI) and functional clients on an elderly assessment ward had benefits in terms of client and staff satisfaction. The study involved 192 hours of observation, following four clients on each ward for 24-hours. Results indicate that the split ward and the mixed ward differ qualitatively and that in terms of user and staff satisfaction the split model is preferable. Implications for service development and future research are also discussed.