Abstract
Background
The Francis report highlights perceptions of care that are affected by different factors including ward structures.
Aims
To assess patient and staff perceptions of psychiatric in-patient wards over time.
Method
Patient and staff perceptions of in-patient psychiatric wards were assessed over 18 months. We also investigated whether the type of ward or service structure affected these perceptions. We included triage and routine care. The goal was to include at least 50% of eligible patients and staff.
Results
The most dramatic change was a significant deterioration in all experiences over the courseof the study. Systems of care or specific wards did not affect patient experience but staff were more dissatisfied in the triage system.
Conclusions
This is the first report of deterioration in perceptions of the therapeutic in-patient environment that has been captured in a rigorous way. It may reflect contemporaneous experiences across the National Health Service of budget reductions and increased throughput. The ward systems we investigated did not improve patient experience and triage may have been detrimental to staff
The Francis report highlights perceptions of care that are affected by different factors including ward structures.
Aims
To assess patient and staff perceptions of psychiatric in-patient wards over time.
Method
Patient and staff perceptions of in-patient psychiatric wards were assessed over 18 months. We also investigated whether the type of ward or service structure affected these perceptions. We included triage and routine care. The goal was to include at least 50% of eligible patients and staff.
Results
The most dramatic change was a significant deterioration in all experiences over the courseof the study. Systems of care or specific wards did not affect patient experience but staff were more dissatisfied in the triage system.
Conclusions
This is the first report of deterioration in perceptions of the therapeutic in-patient environment that has been captured in a rigorous way. It may reflect contemporaneous experiences across the National Health Service of budget reductions and increased throughput. The ward systems we investigated did not improve patient experience and triage may have been detrimental to staff
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | British Journal of Psychiatry |
| Volume | 208 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2016 |
Access to Document
- Following the Francis report_CSIPKE_Accepted 23Aug2015_GOLD VoR
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.