Psychiatric treatment and research unit for adolescent intensive care: the first adolescent forensic psychiatric service in Finland

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 240 - 244
• Main Authors: KAHILA, K., KILKKU, N., KALTIALA-HEINO, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.04.2004; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Health Services - organization & administration; Adolescent, Hospitalized - psychology; balanced score card; Commitment of Mentally Ill; Finland; forensic adolescent psychiatry; Forensic Psychiatry - organization & administration; Guidelines as Topic; Hospitals, University; Humans; Intensive Care Units - organization & administration; Mental Disorders - rehabilitation; Nursing; practice development; Program Development; Psychiatric Department, Hospital - organization & administration; Psychiatric Nursing - organization & administration; Finland
• ISSN: 1351-0126; 1365-2850
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2003.00716.x

Finland does not have a history of providing forensic adolescent psychiatric units although the need for this kind of service has been established. According to legislation patients who are minors have to be treated separately from adults, however, this has not been possible in practice. Also, adolescent psychiatric wards have not always been able to admit the most severely ill patients, those with impulsive and aggressive behaviours, because of lack of staff resources, problems associated with protecting other vulnerable patients and a shortage of secure environments. A previous report demonstrated the significant increase in adolescent's involuntary treatment within adult psychiatric wards. Data from this report were acknowledged as an important starting point in the planning process for the psychiatric treatment and research unit for adolescent intensive care. This paper describes the background, development process, plan of action, tailor‐made education programme and supporting evidence for the first Finnish adolescent forensic service opened in April 2003 in the Department of Psychiatry, Tampere University Hospital. The tool used for planning the unit's activities and staff education programme was the Balanced Score Card approach, the structure and development of which is also outlined within the paper.