Impact of closure of the in-house psychiatric care unit on prehospital and emergency ward length of stay and disposition locations in patients who attempted suicide: A retrospective before-and-after cohort study at a community hospital in Japan.

ABSTRACT: Suicide is an increasingly serious public health care concern worldwide. The impact of decreased in-house psychiatric resources on emergency care for suicidal patients has not been thoroughly examined. We evaluated the effects of closing an in-hospital psychiatric ward on the prehospital and emergency ward length of stay (LOS) and disposition location in patients who attempted suicide.This was a retrospective before-and-after study at a community emergency department (ED) in Japan. On March 31, 2014, the hospital closed its 50 psychiatric ward beds and outpatient consultation days were decreased from 5 to 2 days per week. Electronic health record data of suicidal patients who were brought to the ED were collected for 5 years before the decrease in in-hospital psychiatric services (April 1, 2009-March 31, 2014) and 5 years after the decrease (April 1, 2014-March 31, 2019). One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to compare prehospital and emergency ward LOS, and discharge location between the 2 groups.Of the 1083 eligible patients, 449 (41.5%) were brought to the ED after the closure of the psychiatric ward. Patients with older age, burns, and higher comorbidity index values, and those requiring endotracheal intubation, surgery, and emergency ward admission, were more likely to receive ED care after the psychiatric ward closure. In the propensity matched analysis with 418 pairs, the after-closure group showed a significant increase in median prehospital LOS (44.0 minutes vs 51.0 minutes, P < .001) and emergency ward LOS (3.0 days vs 4.0 days, P = .014) compared with the before-closure group. The rate of direct home return was significantly lower in the after-closure group compared with the before-closure group (87.1% vs 81.6%, odds ratio: 0.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.96).The prehospital and emergency ward LOS for patients who attempted suicide in the study site increased significantly after a decrease in hospital-based mental health services. Conversely, there was significant reduction in direct home discharge after the decrease in in-house psychiatric care. These results have important implications for future policy to address the increasing care needs of patients who attempt suicide.

The Interface of COVID-19 and Inpatient Psychiatry: Our Experience and Lessons Learned.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to the provision of inpatient psychiatric care. The nature of the physical plant, programmatic constraints, and the patient population required a rapid and agile approach to problem-solving under conditions of uncertainty and stress. Flexibility in decision-making, excellent communication, an effective working relationship with infection prevention and control experts, and attention to staff morale and support were important elements of successful provision of care to our inpatients. We present our experience, lessons learned, and recommendations should a resurgence of the pandemic or a similar crisis occur.

Nurses' experiences in response to COVID-19 in a psychiatric ward in Singapore.

AIM: To understand nurses' responses to COVID-19 and identify their uptake of changes in the procedure required for the management of COVID-19 in an inpatient psychiatric ward. BACKGROUND: The infection risk for COVID-19 in an enclosed inpatient psychiatric ward is high due to living arrangements in the ward and the nature of the infectious disease. INTRODUCTION: This paper describes inpatient nurses' experiences, challenges and strategies deployed at the institutional and national levels to contain the spread of infection. METHODS: Written feedback was collected to understand nurses' responses and identify their uptake of changes in procedure following the COVID-19 outbreak in the ward. FINDINGS: Nurses felt shocked, worried, isolated, expressed a lack of confidence, and experienced physical exhaustion. COVID-19 specific challenges were highlighted in the delivery of safe and quality nursing care. Nurses were satisfied with the hospital policy and strategies implemented during the outbreak, acknowledging the importance of support from nursing leaders. DISCUSSION: Practical support and strong nursing leadership have been imperative in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak in the psychiatric hospital. Psychiatric nursing care was maintained with a modified management and treatment approach. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses' willingness to adjust to the reconfiguration of operations to accommodate changes has been crucial for the healthcare system to run effectively. Good practices and policies established during this crisis should be developed and established permanently in nursing practice. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY: Prompt and effective contingency planning and policymaking at the national and institutional level, targeting human resource management and infection control, can introduce changes and alternative options for nursing care in a pandemic. CONCLUSION: With support from influential nursing leaders, strategies and policies are imperative in ensuring the successful management of COVID situations in an inpatient psychiatric setting.

The incidence and economic impact of aggression in closed long-stay psychiatric wards.

OBJECTIVE: Aggressive behaviour is highly prevalent in long-term psychiatric inpatient care. We aimed to estimate the overall incidence of aggression, the time staff took to handle aggression incidents, and the weighted average financial costs thereof. METHODS: A random sampling procedure was conducted at long-term psychiatric inpatient care facilities. Nurses were asked to recall all incidents (i.e., verbal, physical towards objects, self, or others) of their shift. For the time spent on each type of incident, staff were monitored in real-time. Estimated costs were calculated by the time spent multiplied by hourly wages in addition to material-related costs. RESULTS: Incidence rates were 90 incidents per patient year. The average time spent per incident was 125 min but differed for each type of incident. Almost 80% of this time was consumed by nursing staff. The average cost per aggression incident was €78; extrapolated per patient year, the total costs were approximately €7000. CONCLUSIONS: The current study found a high rate of aggression incidents in closed long-stay psychiatric wards. Reports of aggression on these types of wards are scarce. Nevertheless, aggression seems to have a severe impact on invested time and related costs, which suggests a need for aggression-prevention and de-escalating programs.Key pointsAggression incidents are highly prevalent and are accompanied by high costs.The effect of aggression incidents on the workload for staff members is high, especially for nursing staff.Studies across countries on the incidence and the costs of aggression among psychiatric inpatients are needed to help model the effects of (new) strategies for aggression reduction.

Preventing COVID-19 Infection in Mental Health Units: Recommendations for Best Practices.

Mental health facilities should be equipped to care for patients while preventing spread of COVID-19. Peer-reviewed literature and guidelines for government and health organizations were reviewed to guide best practices. Gunderson's five therapeutic functions of a milieu are used as a conceptual framework. Patients should be screened for infection according to local or national policy prior to admission to an inpatient mental health unit. While interacting with one another in a therapeutic milieu, patients should be encouraged to practice physical distancing and hand hygiene. Clinicians may need to alter therapeutic groups to prevent COVID-19 infection. Additionally, clinicians should monitor patients for emerging symptoms and conduct rapid testing and isolation of patients suspected of COVID-19. Recommendations are made for patients unable to adhere to physical distancing or hand hygiene policies.

[Health care delivery and psychiatric hospitalizations in the prisons of the North of France: An observational study]. / Offre de soins et recours aux hospitalisations psychiatriques en milieu pénitentiaire : une étude observationnelle dans le Nord de la France.

BACKGROUND: In French prisons, psychiatric care for inmates is organized into three levels: ambulatory care within each jail in "unités sanitaires en milieu pénitentiaire" (USMP: sanitary units in correctional settings), day hospitalizations in the 28  services médico-psychologiques régionaux (SMPR, "regional medical-psychological services") and full-time hospitalizations in one of the nine "unités d'hospitalisation spécialement aménagées" (UHSA: specially equipped hospital units). Despite high prevalence of mental disorders among French prisoners, the efficiency of these specialized psychiatric care units has been insufficiently studied. The main goal of this study is to describe full-time psychiatric hospitalizations for inmates in the twenty prisons located in the North of France. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive study based on medical and administrative data and survey results. The following data were collected for each prison regarding 2016: 1) number and occupancy rates for mental health professionals and 2) psychiatric hospitalization rates (in the UHSA of Lille-Seclin and the general psychiatric hospitals). RESULTS: Provision of care is incomplete: the vacancy rate in the health units studied reaches 40 %. Moreover, access to UHSA is unequal: it varies pronouncedly according to the location of the prison; only inmates in prisons close to the UHSA benefit from satisfactory access. CONCLUSION: Access to psychiatric care for inmates remains problematic in France, particularly due to a lack of mental health professionals in USMPs, the overload of patients in UHSAs and the distance of theses facilities from certain prisons and jails.

Reduction of aggressive and violent behavior toward behavioral health unit staff and other patients: a best practice implementation project.

OBJECTIVES: The current project aimed to implement evidence-based recommendations for the management of inpatient aggressive and violent behaviors in four behavioral health units (BHUs) in a mental healthcare area within an academic medical center. INTRODUCTION: Patient violence against healthcare workers is a global concern, particularly in mental health care. All employees who work in inpatient psychiatric environments are at higher risk for targeted violence than are other healthcare workers. For healthcare organizations and staff, violent episodes involving patients can bring about medical expenses, potential legal expenditure, sick leave and a high turnover rate. The hospital at which this project was implemented had been experiencing a steady increase in violence and aggressive behavior. METHODS: The project used the Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice audit tool for promoting practice change in four BHUs. A baseline retrospective audit of 10 electronic health records from four BHUs assessed compliance with best practice regarding violent episodes. The Getting Research into Practice tool was used to identify barriers and develop an evidence-based educational strategy for 70 BHU staff aimed to improve compliance with best practice for managing aggression and violence. Staff education compliance was assessed via hospital education department records. A pre and postimplementation staff satisfaction survey assessed perceptions about education, confidence and unit safety. RESULTS: The baseline audit indicated that one of the three criteria had 0% compliance. Following implementation of an educational strategy using mock codes for BHU staff, there was 96% improvement in compliance for the BHU staff education audit criterion. Staff de-escalated patients in 83% of the episodes postimplementation. There was a slight decrease (9.1%) in the rate of violence across all four inpatient BHUs. Staff satisfaction survey findings did not show a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: Enhanced evidence-based education and mock codes resulted in BHU staff competence and confidence in managing aggressive and/or violent patients. Early signs of a decrease in the violence rate and improvement in the efficient use of de-escalation will be sustained with on-going yearly education, quarterly mock codes and future audits. This project was limited by its small size and short timeframe (21 weeks), making results not generalizable.

A Firsthand Look at Life in a Psychiatric Ward during a Pandemic.

Life inside a secure psychiatric facility has seen its share of changes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to increased agitation in patients and an increase in admissions.

Improving rates of metabolic monitoring on an inpatient psychiatric ward.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of premature death in patients with mental illness. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of co-occurring cardiovascular risk factors, seen in high frequency in severe mental illness. Despite ease of diagnosis, monitoring is often poor across psychiatric populations. This report details a quality improvement initiative undertaken on an inpatient psychiatric ward to improve rates of metabolic monitoring. METHODS: Four key interventions were developed: (1) A nurse-led intervention, where nurses were upskilled in performing metabolic monitoring, (2) Education was provided to all staff, (3) Introduction of a suite of interventions to improve metabolic risk and (4) Ongoing consumer involvement. A pre-post intervention study design was used to measure effectiveness, with an audit of metabolic monitoring rates performed 12 months after the intervention began. RESULTS: Rates of weight and height monitoring both increased from 46.0% to 69.5% (p=0.0185) and body mass index (BMI) recordings increased from 33% to 63% (p=0.0031). Rates of waist circumference monitoring increased from 44.2% to 65.2% (p=0.0498). Blood pressure (BP) measurements increased from 88.5% to 100% (p=0.0188). Lipid monitoring rates improved from 23% to 69.5% (p=0.001). Rates of glucose monitoring increased from 74% to 82.5% (p=0.8256), although this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that metabolic monitoring improved following these simple interventions, with a statistically significant increase in measurement rates of weight, BP, height, lipids, BMI and waist circumference (p<0.05). Overall monitoring of glucose also improved, although not to significant levels. The intervention was acceptable to both patients and staff.

Optimization strategies for the organization of mental healthcare.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to analyse the main issues and obstacles to optimizing the organization of mental healthcare and the strategies that should be applied by presenting the examples from practice. RESULTS: Outcomes of mental healthcare are in relation with 'improved legislation' and the introduction of up-to-date management and economic concepts including continuous treatment model, in addition to the advantages and disadvantages in the provision of mental healthcare within primary and secondary inpatient and outpatient healthcare. Some of these lessons are learned from reforms implemented in Serbia.

[Mental health care in French correctional facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic]. / Prisons confinées : quelles conséquences pour les soins psychiatriques et la santé mentale des personnes détenues en France ?

OBJECTIVE: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 11 million people currently incarcerated worldwide is the subject of many concerns. Prisons and jails are filled with people suffering from many preexisting medical conditions increasing the risk of complications. Detainees' access to medical services is already limited and overcrowding poses a threat of massive contagion. Beyond the health impact of the crisis, the tightening of prison conditions worries. On March 16, 2020, in France, the lockdown measures have been accompanied by specific provisions for prisons: all facilities have suspended visitations, group activities and external interventions. Over 10,000 prisoners have been released to reduce the prison population and the risk of virus propagation. These adjustments had major consequences on the healthcare system in French prisons. The objectives of this article are to describe the reorganization of the three levels of psychiatric care for inmates in France in the context of Covid-19 pandemic and to have a look at the impact of lockdown measures and early releases on mental health of prisoners. METHODS: This work is based on a survey conducted in April 2020 in France among psychiatric healthcare providers working in 42 ambulatory units for inmates and in the 9 full-time inpatient psychiatric wards exclusively for inmates called "UHSAs" (which stands for "unités hospitalières spécialement aménagées", and can be translated as "specially equipped hospital units"). A review of the international literature on mental healthcare system for inmates during the Covid-19 epidemic has also been performed. RESULTS: The Covid-19 epidemic has been rather contained during the period of confinement in French prisons but the impact of confinement measures on the prison population is significant. The three levels of psychiatric care for inmates have implemented specific measures to ensure continuity of care, to support detainees during Coronavirus lockdown and to prevent an infection's spread. Among the most important are: limitation of medical consultations to serious and urgent cases, creation of "Covid units", cancellation of voluntary psychiatric hospitalizations, reinforcement of preventive hygiene measures and reshuffling of medical staff. Prolonged confinement has consequences on mental health of detainees. Currently, mental health workers are facing multiple clinical situations such as forced drug and substance withdrawal (linked to difficulties in supplying psychoactive substances), symptoms of anxiety (due to concerns for their own and their relatives' well-being) and decompensation among patients with severe psychiatric conditions. Early releases from prison may also raise some issues. People recently released from prison are identified as at high risk of death by suicide and drug overdose. The lack of time to provide the necessary link between health services within prisons and health structures outside could have serious consequences, emphasizing the well-known "revolving prison doors" effect. DISCUSSION: The current lockdown measures applied in French jails and prisons point out the disparities between psychiatric care for inmates and psychiatric care for general population. Giving the high vulnerability of prison population, public health authorities should pay more attention to health care in prisons.

Targeted Intervention to Reduce Smoking among People with Severe Mental Illness: Implementation of a Smoking Cessation Intervention in an Inpatient Mental Health Setting.

Background and Objectives: Smoking and smoking-related harms are highly prevalent among people with severe mental illness. Targeted smoking cessation programs are much needed in this population. This pilot study aimed to assess the effectiveness of implementing smoking cessation system change interventions within an acute inpatient mental health unit. Materials and Methods: Design: Pre-post intervention study. System change interventions for smoking cessation were delivered over a three-month period (05 March 2018-04 June 2018) on an acute inpatient mental health unit. Participants (n = 214) were all individuals receiving care as inpatients during the three-month intervention. Outcomes assessed pre- and post-intervention were: (i) recording of patient smoking status in medical notes, (ii) number of inpatients offered smoking cessation medication, and iii) number of violent incidents reported. Results: Recording of smoking status significantly increased from 1.9% to 11.4% (X2 = 14.80; p ≤ 0.001). The proportion of inpatients offered smoking cessation treatment significantly increased from 11.0% to 26.8% (X2 = 16.01; p ≤ 0.001). The number of violent incidents decreased by half, which was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Evidence-based smoking cessation interventions can be successfully implemented on an inpatient mental health unit. Modest gains were made in routine screening for smoking and in smoking cessation treatment prescription. Future studies should prioritize effective participatory collaboration with staff to optimize effectiveness of interventions and should include additional strategies such as brief intervention training and smoking cessation treatments such as varenicline and buproprion in addition to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).