CAN PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS BE DISCHARGED - OBJECTIVE

Objective: To assess the possibility of discharging psychiatric inpati ents of two large Mental Hospitals in Lower Austria. Methods: A point prevalence study was performed in 1992. Treating psychiatrists were as ked to evaluate the possibility to discharge patients under the hypoth etical assumption that a broad range of residential facilities were av ailable. Results: The inpatient proportion had decreased from 2179 in 1974 to 1032 in 1992. Of the 1992 population 75.7% might be discharged . Most patients (41.5%) were regarded as needing a permanently staffed home. Conclusions: Although the inpopulation of the two large Mental Hospitals studied had decreased over a period of 18 years already by o ver 50 percent, the results of this study show that there is a large p otential for further reform. Since the evaluation was carried out by t he treating psychiatrists in the hospital, who might have been in a co nflict of interests or might have preferred the treatment they are pro viding themselves, this finding is particularly remarkable.