Drop in numbers in psychiatric units

There has been a 17 per cent reduction in the number of people resident in psychiatric units and hospitals since 2006, according to new figures published today.

The data, which is contained in a census undertaken by the Health Research Board, shows there were 2,812 patients in Irish psychiatric units and hospitals on March 31st, the night the census was taken.

This is 577 fewer psychiatric residents since the last survey was conducted five years ago.

The seventh national census also reveals that the number of people in psychiatric units and hospitals has declined by 86 per cent since 1963.

The Health Research Board said the decline was largely due to successive government policies to grow community psychiatric services as an alternative to long-stay institutional care.

However, the report indicates that much of the decline in long-stay patients occurred prior to 2006 and that if the rate of decline in number of long-term patients over the last four years was projected ahead, there would still be over 300 long-stay indiviudals in in-patient care in 2030.

The overall hospitalisation rates in Ireland (66.3 per 100,000) are similar to rates in the UK – England (60.1), Wales (77.5) and Northern Ireland (63.3) with the exception of Scotland which had a higher rate (93.0).

Forty-two per cent of all residents were ranked as long-stay patients, meaning they had been in hospital continuously for one year or more. This compares to 46 per cent of long-stay patients recorded in the 2006 census.

Approximately one-third of all in-patients recorded in the latest census were aged 65 years and over while males accounted for 53 per cent of all residents.

Almost two-thirds of residents were single, while 20 per cent were married, 6 per cent widowed and almost 3 per cent, divorced.

Agricultural workers had the highest rate of hospitalisation at 171.5, followed by the unskilled and farmers. Over one-third of all residents had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while 17 per cent were diagnosed as having depressive disorders.

The census shows a 2 per cent increase in the proportion of patients resident in general hospital psychiatric units from 2006 to 2010 coupled with a 5 per cent decrease in the proportion resident in psychiatric hospitals in line with the policy to close the older, more traditional psychiatric hospitals and the provision of in-patient services in psychiatric units in general hospitals.

Almost half of all patients recorded in the Irish Psychiatric Units and Hospitals Census 2010, were resident in psychiatric hospitals. A further 25 per cent were in general hospital psychiatric units.

The latest census shows a rise in the number of residents in child and adolescent units since 2006, with 43 individuals under the age of 18 recorded, compared to 30 in 2006.

The majority of in-patients aged under 18 were female and 19 per cent had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while 12 per cent had eating disorders and a further 9 per cent had a diagnosis of neuroses.

The census shows a further reduction in the proportion of patients detained involuntarily since the introduction of the Mental Health Act 2001 in November 2006.

According to the figures, 13 per cent of all in-patients were categorised as involuntary admissions, compared to 22 per cent five years earlier.