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NEW LONG‐STAY PATIENTS AT A MENTAL HANDICAP HOSPITAL
Author(s) -
Khan Asaf M.,
Cumella Stuart,
Krishnan Vallepur,
Iqbal Mohamed,
Corbett John,
Clarke David
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
mental handicap research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 0952-9608
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3148.1993.tb00108.x
Subject(s) - mental handicap , mental illness , psychiatry , medicine , challenging behaviour , psychology , legislature , mental health , learning disability , archaeology , history
Legislative changes and the development of community mental handicap services make it essential to identify the future requirement for mental handicap hospitals. One means of doing this is to look at patients who become long‐stay hospital residents despite the existence of community‐based services. This paper reports a study of 31 new long‐stay patients in an English mental handicap hospital. Most were young, male, mobile and physically‐active. Half had either social impairments and/or communication disabilities, three‐fifths had psychiatric disorders, and four‐fifths were severe or potential management problems because of disturbed behaviour. The characteristics of this group reflect the absence of alternative provision for patients with mental illness and/or disturbed behaviour, and these will need to be developed before mental handicap hospitals are closed.