Evaluation of alternative residential facilities for the severely mentally handicapped in Wessex: Staff recruitment and continuity

Abstract

Data on daytime staffing levels and turnover were abstracted from the personnel records of small locally-based hospital units for severely and profoundly handicapped children or adults and from the nursing report books of five villas of a large mental handicap hospital. These were compared to evaluate predictions that difficulties in staff recruitment would be found in the locally-based hospital units and that they would suffer much higher staff turnover than in a large hospital. The data showed that full staff establishment was substantially maintained in the locally-based hospital units and that, due to the frequency of staff transfer between villas of the large hospital, the continuity of staff in the locally-based hospital units was considerably greater than the continuity of staff on any of the villas. Thus, concern that small “domestic” residential units sited in the community among the people they serve would not be a feasible alternative to traditional large mental handicap hospitals for the care of severely and profoundly mentally handicapped people, because such units could not be satisfactorily staffed, appear to be unfounded.