Authors: John Farhall, Tom Trauer, Peter Cheung, Richard Newton, VIC
Year: 1999
Event: 1999 TheMHS Conference
Subject: recommended reading, community care unit, rehabilitation, book of proceedings
Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers
ISBN: 0949203750
Abstract: Since 1995 a major evaluation project has been studying the outcomes of 125 patients who moved from a stand-alone psychiatric hospital to one of seven new community care units. Community Care Units (CCUs) are 20 bed clinically staffed rehabilitation services which have replaced long term open wards in Victoria’s mental health service system. Data were collected pre-move, one month post-move and again one year later. Comprehensive assessments included psychopathology, disability, aggressive behaviour, quality of life, attitudes to the change, and satisfaction with accommodation and services. The views of carers and staff were also sought. Results so far show that CCUs had considerably less ‘institutional’ practices. Consumers had strong preferences for their new community placements. Quality of life interviews showed that the primary subjective changes were in the area of living situation. In contrast, measures of psychiatric symptoms and personal functioning changed little. It appears that the major impact of the transition from hospital to community has arisen from the change in living arrangements.
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