TAPS project 28: does reprovision benefit elderly long-stay mental patients?

A survey of all inpatients aged 70 years or more was conducted in one of London's mental hospitals in 1989. Baseline measures of cognitive and behavioural disabilities were established for each of the 130 functionally-ill long-stay patients. Three years later 71 patients were still alive, being equally distributed between hospital and community facilities. The study examines the outcomes of patients who had left hospital in comparison with a similar group who remained there. The results indicate that behaviour of patients who were settled in the community was stable and even improved slightly over time, as opposed to those who remained in hospital, who became more disturbed. Direct examinations demonstrate that while those who remained in hospital markedly deteriorated in their cognitive function, patients who left hospital had also declined, but to a much lesser extent. When considering the overall outcomes, we come to recognise the potential for stabilization and even improvement in the condition of ageing schizophrenics being moved from hospital to the community.