Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T06:18:57.538Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

In-patient characteristics in a regional secure unit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

J. McKenna
J. McKenna*
Affiliation:
Edenfield Centre, Mental Health Services, Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 3BL
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A survey of 100 completed Regional Secure Unit (RSU) in-patient episodes shows that most patients are young, male, short-stay and suffering from chronic psychotic disorders. Substance abuse is prevalent, and many currently face serious charges. A significant minority of patients had previously been admitted to the Unit, especially those admitted directly from the community. Nearly half of all discharges were directly into community placements, and nearly as many remained under the care of the forensic service. Despite the sampling frame, it is clear that a few ‘long-stay’ patients contribute disproportionately to overall bed occupancy, so that beds for acute admissions may be blocked. Further, ‘parallel care’ is operating to a significant degree in this service, with the inevitable accumulation of patients who will continue to require future in-patient care. These two factors in particular suggest that the ability of the RSU to fulfil its basic functions may become increasingly compromised, particularly with respect to emergency requirements for medium secure beds at the district level.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , May 1996 , pp. 264 - 268
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1996

References

Bluglass, R. (1986) The development of Regional Secure Units. In Secure Provision (ed. Gostin, L.). London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Coid, J. W. (1993) A Survey of Bed Occupancy in Medium Security, 21st November, 1993. Discussion Paper. Department of Health.Google Scholar
Gunn, J. (1976) Management of the mentally abnormal offender: integrated or parallel. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 70, 877–880.Google Scholar
Higgo, R. & Shetty, G. (1991) Four years' experience of a Regional Secure Unit Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 2, 202–209.Google Scholar
Smith, J. & Hucker, S. (1994) Schizophrenia and substance abuse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 13–21.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.