Evaluation of moving an acute psychiatric ward from a psychiatric hospital to a general hospital setting

This study evaluates the effects of moving an acute psychiatric ward from a psychiatric hospital to a district general hospital. A repeated measures design is used covering the three phases of shortly before and after the move and a follow-up 10 months after the move. Eleven measures were used including daily measures of patient disturbance and staff stress, length of stay, diagnosis and a consumer survey. Overall there was little change from before the move to follow-up. Two second-order variables relating to staff stress did, however, show a clear reduction.