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01-09-2023

Psychiatric day hospitals are expanded. What changes await patients?

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Ministry of Health (MOH) increases access to mental health care services – a network of psychiatric day hospitals is expanded. It is planned that the number of psychiatric day hospitals will grow from 35 to 77 before 2027. This will make it possible for people not only in cities, but also in regions, to get treatment they need without having to be admitted to a hospital (when permanent care is not necessary).

A psychiatric day hospital provides treatment and readaptation services for adults for at least 6 contact hours per day. A key difference from inpatient services is that patients may go home in the evening.

Marija Oleškevičienė, Advisor of Mental Health Division of MOH, states “currently, as much as 60 pct. of all mental health funding goes to inpatient treatment and only 7 pct. is allocated to psychiatric day hospitals. Reorganization will not only allow patients to avoid hospital admissions for uncomplicated conditions, but also to receive qualified help faster.” 

According to the specialist, expanding psychiatric day hospital services will allow more patients to replace home treatment with more intensive help, such as individual and group sessions led by a medical psychologist, a social worker, a mental health nurse, an occupational therapist, and non-medication therapies, combined with medications as needed. Also, to adapt more easily in cases when treatment in a hospital has to be changed into treatment at home.

Day hospital treatment services – in the evenings and at the weekends 

By expanding the number of day hospitals, it is planned to provide convenient access to treatment for working or studying people. They will be offered the services at evening or weekend day hospitals. “This is a scheduled psychiatric treatment and readaptation service of at least 3 hours, that is provided not earlier than 3 PM on weekdays or at any time during weekends. It is a win-win situation for both a patient and a facility, as it allows a person to combine work and treatment in an efficient way, and for the facility – to make better and more cost-effective use of the premises,” M. Oleškevičienė says.

Service development - according to the need arising out of the analysis

The interlocutor mentions that seeking to find out the need of psychiatric day hospital services in specific municipalities, an analysis was performed, on the basis of the number of residents, morbidity and indices of services being provided in a specific municipality at the moment: “We calculated the need, a formula was made, which included morbidity of certain illnesses – depression, schizophrenia – and the risk of suicides. For the assessment of this indicator, a morbidity rate has been calculated for each municipality, showing how many services are missing.”

M. Oleškevičienė states that expansion of psychiatric day hospitals is expected to reduce the current need for inpatient treatment by one third by 2030. This will also lead to reallocation of funds for treatment in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric day hospitals.

Mental health care services – closer to a patient

Loreta Vitkutė-Maigienė, head of Mental Health Centre of Public Institution Vilnius District Central Polyclinic, emphasizes benefit provided at a psychiatric day hospital. The facility has a mental health day hospital with a qualified team of specialists: doctors psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses.

According to L. Vitkutė-Maigienė, a patient with a referral from a psychiatrist or a family doctor receives an individual treatment programme, pharmaceutical treatment is applied, individual or group psychotherapy, psychologist’s, social worker’s, mental health nurse’s consultations, relaxation sessions, art and occupational therapies, etc.

Complex services provided in a less restrictive environment allow mental health services to be brought closer to people living in the regions and preserve patient’s relationship with his family. This can prevent critical exacerbations of the disease, help analyse the disease more accurately and trace its causes more easily,” she says.

Ministry of Health Communication Department

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Last updated: 19-09-2023

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