Closure of a long-stay ward: Five years onwards

Abstract

Closure of psychiatric hospitals has engendered much debate. There is a growing body of literature resulting from such closures. Lamb in a lecture has pointed out the need for deinstitutionalisation to be clinically driven rather than by pre-conceived ideology. Bachrach discussed the need to espouse a bio-psycho-social and humanistic approach coupled with the provision of adequate resources. In a limited survey conducted among community homes and long-stay hospitals in London, it was found that the most disabled were still living in hospitals and received the poorest quality care. Whilst there were no overall differences amongst the community facilities, they noted the importance of staff training and morale in order to improve quality of care.