Survey of long-stay patients on acute psychiatric wards

Aims and Method To describe the profile of patients staying on acute wards for longer than 6 months and to compare staff appraisals of accommodation needs with patients' placements at 2 years. Results Long-stay patients consistently occupied around a fifth of all acute beds. the nursing and medical staff recommendations and patients' placements at 2 years showed only moderate agreement. Aside from remaining in hospital, patients were most likely to be living in a residential or nursing home at follow-up. Clinical Implications There is a need to sharpen the focus of mental health strategy on non-acute hospital provision and 24-h-staffed community facilities. In particular, it is important to recognise the contribution of clinical expertise to the assessment and placement of long-stay in-patients.