[Psychiatric hospital and the progrees of psychiatric reform]

Two decades have already passed since the onset of psychiatric reform in our country. In the following article, we discuss the course and evolution of psychiatric reform. We refer to the inherent weaknesses of the original design, which did not monitor the status of psychiatric services in order to permit evaluation of the course of psychiatric reform. We present the problems that have emerged in the newly created psychiatric facilities and services, and we propose that monitoring system of the psychiatric reform should be established as soon as possible, while the goals should be reformulated in order to endorse accumulated experience. We specifically claim that psychiatric hospitals should not be closed entirely, and that their further reduction should follow the creation of a better-organized system of outpatient psychiatric facilities. Finally, we refer to the need for a floor, where colleagues will be free to debate the process of psychiatric reform.