The brief admission unit in emergency psychiatry

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychology Vol. 53; no. 8; pp. 817 - 823
• Main Authors: Clarke, Patrick, Hafner, R. Julian, Holme, Gwili
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brandon Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.12.1997; Wiley; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Community Psychiatry; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Emergency services; Emergency Services, Psychiatric - methods; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Organization of mental health. Health systems; Patient Admission; Patient Satisfaction; Psychiatric Department, Hospital; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Substance abuse treatment; Substance-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Australia; Oceania; Short term; Human; Psychiatric hospital; Hospital organization; Psychiatric emergency; Hospital admission; Mental health; Hospital ward; Public health
• ISSN: 0021-9762; 1097-4679
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199712)53:8<817::AID-JCLP5>3.0.CO;2-C

The study evaluates a Brief Admission Unit for clients of an emergency service located within a comprehensive community psychiatric program. Eighty‐five clients completed the Brief Symptom inventory and a structured interview. Substance abuse disorder (n = 29) and major depression (n = 24) were the most common Axis I diagnoses, of which 30 subjects had two or more. Sixty subjects had an Axis II diagnosis. Mean duration of admission was 3.9 days, compared with the average in other acute units of 11.5 days. At discharge, half the subjects were rated as moderately to greatly improved and client satisfaction was high. The unit was crucial to the psychiatric emergency service and had a key role in relieving pressure on beds elsewhere within the system. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 53: 817–823, 1997