2,200 put in psychiatric hospitals 'against will'
More than 2,200 people were admitted to psychiatric hospitals against their will last year, it was revealed today.
Around 11% of the 23,031 people treated in psychiatric units and hospitals last year were admitted involuntarily – a figure similar to 2002.
Patients can be held against their will under the Mental Treatment Act 1945, for a total period of two years.
The report from the Health Research Board showed that re-admissions to facilities were now accounting for over 70% of all those seeking treatment.
Dr Dermot Walsh, the chief investigator at the board, said a fall in admissions from 23,677 in 2002 showed a stronger focus on community care.
Around 44% were admitted to general hospital psychiatric units, exceeding the 38% sent for treatment in acute facilities for the first time.
Dr Walsh said this showed the “increased provision of general hospital units and the phasing out of psychiatric hospitals”.
The report, Activities of Irish Psychiatric Services 2003, showed the South Eastern Health Board had the highest admission rate and numbers hospitalised.
Over half of total admissions and first-time admissions were for single people.
The majority of patients were aged between 45 and 54 years old, a rate of 961 per 100,000 of the population.
This compared with the lowest rate of 271 per 100,000 people, which was in the 16 to 19-year-old age group.
Three main psychiatric problems accounted for two-thirds of all admissions.
Around 33% of people were treated for depressive disorders, schizophrenia illnesses affected 18% and 16% were suffering from alcoholic problems.
“Rates of first admission for depressive disorders, for example, were higher than those for schizophrenia in all counties,” Dr Walsh said.
He added that the research showed a strong variation in the rates of admission reported across different regions. He said this could be attributed to differences in service provision, but needed to be examined.
The number of people treated by electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) – once frequently used to treat depression – has continued to decline.
There were 859 people treated by ECT, with 163 of these in private hospitals.
In 2003, there were 17 people believed to have taken their own lives in psychiatric units or hospitals.
This accounted for 7% of the 243 deaths in the entire sector and amounted to less than 4% of the 444 suicide deaths nationwide.
Around 22,911 people were discharged from hospital, with 48% of these leaving within two weeks of admission. However, 2% of these had spent a year or more in hospital.
At the end of last year there were 3,658 patients resident in Irish psychiatric units. Around 18% of residents were non-voluntary, some 16% of these were hospitalised for between one and five years. Almost 40% were in hospital for more than five-years.
Locked and padded rooms were used on over 4,000 occasions last year, with around 682 patients being secluded for their own safety.
