Mental Health Centers. Preliminary evaluation of the pilot program implementation process

The aim of the presented research is to characterize the operating Mental Health Centers (MHCs) and to provide a preliminary assessment of the implementation process of the pilot program model in the area of psychiatric care in Poland.

The study uses the Polish version of the German questionnaire, which covers four areas: (1) basic conditionsof the model project/pilot program; (2) characteristicsof the organizational structure of the treatment entity; (3) statistical characteristics of the services provided;(4) specific features of the psychiatric care system in model regions/pilot program Mental Health Centers.

Nineteen of the 27 Mental Health Centers completed the survey. The centers have 428 beds in day units and 1,971 beds in inpatient units. Most of the centers (15 of 19) work with subcontractors and all are publicly funded. Eight centers were established by psychiatric hospitals and 11 centers were constituted at psychiatric wards within multi-specialist hospitals. The medical services provided by the centers mainly include psychiatry and psychotherapy. In 2019, the centers provided medical services to a total of 65,614 patients; 8,432 patients received at least three forms of treatment.

The first full year of MHC operation in the pilot program indicates the expected direction of change in psychiatric care - achieving a significant level of implementation of community care standards. The survey needs to be repeated to verify this direction. A limitation of the study was the lack of survey responses from 30% of MHCs. In the future, we should aim for at least 90% of completed surveys.