COVID-19 disease emergency operational instructions for Mental Health Departments issued by the Italian Society of Epidemiological Psychiatry

• Published in: Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences Vol. 29; p. e116
• Main Authors: Starace, Fabrizio, Ferrara, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care; Betacoronavirus; Caregivers; Community Mental Health Services - organization & administration; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease prevention; Disease transmission; Electronic health records; Emergency Service, Hospital - organization & administration; Health Services Research; Humans; Italy - epidemiology; Masks; Medical personnel; Medical records; Medical supplies; Meetings; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental health care; Pandemics; Patient safety; Personal protective equipment; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control; Population; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Professionals; Psychiatry; Public Health; Quality of care; Quality of Health Care; SARS-CoV-2; Societies, Medical; Telemedicine; Italy; health service research; Community mental health; emergency psychiatry; quality of care; mental health
• ISSN: 2045-7960; 2045-7979; 2045-7979
• DOI: 10.1017/S2045796020000372

During the current COVID-19 disease emergency, it is not only an ethical imperative but also a public health responsibility to keep the network of community psychiatry services operational, particularly for the most vulnerable subjects (those with mental illness, disability, and chronic conditions). At the same time, it is necessary to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 disease within the outpatient and inpatient services affiliated with Mental Health Departments. These instructions, first published online on 16 March 2020 in their original Italian version, provide a detailed description of actions, proposed by the Italian Society of Epidemiological Psychiatry, addressed to Italian Mental Health Departments during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The overall goal of the operational instructions is to guarantee, during the current health emergency, the provision of the best health care possible, taking into account both public health necessities and the safety of procedures. These instructions could represent a useful resource to mental health providers, and stakeholders to face the current pandemic for which most of Mental Health Departments worldwide are not prepared to. These instructions could provide guidance and offer practical tools which can enable professionals and decision makers to foresee challenges, like those already experienced in Italy, which in part can be avoided or minimised if timely planned. These strategies can be shared and adopted, with the appropriate adjustments, by Mental Health Departments in other countries.