[Readmissions in a pilot psychiatric ward]

Abstract

We did this work because the observation shows us a high percentage of readmissions in Psychiatric Services. Alejandro Korn Hospital has 2,306 beds, 98% of them occupied. Of these beds, 104 belong to neurology and 63 to clinic and surgery. In this hospital are the 89.50% of the whole beds of Buenos Aires Province. During the observation women area (where we work) was divided in three admission areas. Evaluation took us the last three months of 1975, and March, April and May of 1976. With Statistics Area's agree, the whole of admissions was proportionally divided in three areas. One of them was our Legal Psychiatric Ward. At the moment of the admission patient's family had to answer some questions we had prepared about causes we were looking for. During this time, 62 persons were admitted and of these, 47 were re-admitted (75.81%). To give up the treatment when the patient left the hospital was the main reason for the high re-admission percentage (76.59%): 61.11% of them gave up the treatment because they had no medical control; 25% because of bad economic conditions, and 13.89% because the patient sometimes interrupted his everyday medication.