NEW LONG-STAY PATIENTS - FROM ACUTE WARDS TO WHERE

Inadequate alternatives to the old mental hospitals have placed many i nner city acute psychiatric units under great pressure as bed numbers have contracted and disturbed patients have accumulated. This study se t out to assess the outcome at two-year follow-up of a cohort of 26 pa tients resident on an acute psychiatric ward for more than six months. Results showed that a substantial minority of 'new long stay' patient s 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 remaine d involved with 90% of the patients in the cohort.