New long stay patients: from acute wards to where?

Inadequate alternatives to the old mental hospitals have placed many inner city acute psychiatric units under great pressure as bed numbers have contracted and disturbed patients have accumulated. This study set out to assess the outcome at two-year follow-up of a cohort of 26 patients resident on an acute psychiatric ward for more than six months. Results showed that a substantial minority of 'new long stay' patients made a successful return to independent living, but that at two-year follow-up half the cohort remained in a highly supported setting. Two deaths had occurred, neither by suicide. Psychiatric services remained involved with 90% of the patients in the cohort.