Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Wards Research Articles

A pilot study to test an intervention for dealing with verbal aggression

Verbal aggression has been defined as communication with an intention to harm an individual through words, tone or manner, regardless of whether harm occurs. It includes verbal threat to harm, ridicule, openly hostile remarks, unjust persistent criticism, shouting or yelling insults, as well as more covert actions such as spreading hurtful rumours (Cox, 1987; Farrell et al, 2006). Receiving verbal aggression from a patient has been closely associated with psychological distress which may negatively affect work performance. A verbal aggression work book was developed to help nursing staff to deal with verbal aggression from patients in clinical practice. This was piloted over a six-week period with 18 nurses working on one acute psychiatric inpatient ward. Findings revealed that the intervention had some promising effects. However, much more attention needs to be paid to changing attitudes towards verbal aggression.

P03-14 - A quasi-experimental controlled intervention to reduce violence on an acute psychiatric ward

IntroductionViolence and aggression are a major concern in acute inpatient psychiatric wards. Hard outcome data on the impact of service change are scarce. This poster presents the outcomes of service changes designed to improve the acute ward environment and patient experience.Aims and objectivesTo implement changes to the delivery of acute inpatient psychiatric services and to measure the outcome of these changes in objective verifiable form.MethodSignificant changes were introduced to an acute psychiatric inpatient service. These included introducing a dedicated inpatient psychiatrist “hospitalist”, replacing weekly ward rounds with daily multidisciplinary care and discharge planning meetings and promoting increased roles for nursing staff in decision-making and patient contact. Outcomes measured included routinely recorded incidents of violence with and without injury, use of restraint for medication and use of constant nursing observation. The control group was a similar service in the same hospital subject to the same general policies and admitting patients demographically comparable, but that did not at the time undergo the interventions implemented in the trial service. All data was recorded by staff who were unaware of this study or even that any analysis of the data would occur.Results and conclusionsViolent incidents in the intervention ward dropped by 34% per patient (p=< 0.02) whilst increasing by 3% in the control ward; restraints decreased by 28% (p=ns) whilst increasing by 12% in the control ward; with an overall reduction in constant observation. The intervention was highly effective in reducing violent incidents.

Psychiatric wards: places of safety?

In recent years, the purpose and quality of provision delivered in acute inpatient psychiatric settings have been increasingly questioned. Studies from a service user perspective have reported that while some psychiatric inpatients feel safe and cared for, others feel their time in hospital is neither safe nor therapeutic. This paper explores the experiences of service users on acute inpatient psychiatric wards in England, with a particular focus on their feelings of safety and security. Interviews were conducted with 60 psychiatric inpatients in England. The majority of service users felt safe in hospital and felt supported by staff and other service users. However, anything that threatened their sense of security such as aggression, bullying, theft, racism and the use of alcohol and drugs on the ward, made some respondents feel insecure and unsafe. Psychiatric wards are still perceived by many as volatile environments, where service users feel forced to devise personal security strategies in order to protect themselves and their property. It would appear that there remains much to do before research findings and policies are implemented in ways that facilitate all service users to derive the maximum benefit from their inpatient experience.

Factors Related to Admission of Psychiatric Patients to Medical Wards from the General Hospital Emergency Department: A 3-Year Study of Urgent Psychiatric Consultations

Emergency Rooms (ER) of Emergency Departments (ED) in General Hospitals (GH) have a role in providing for psychiatric evaluation. The aims of the present study were to examine the decision-making process of consultation psychiatry at the GH-ER and to analyze the differences between psychiatric patients admitted to a medical ward with those admitted to the psychiatry unit and those who are discharged from the ER. Over a period of 3 years, psychiatric consultations requested by ER of ED physicians to the GH Psychiatric service were recorded by using a form to describe epidemiological and clinical data on the consultation process. Of 1,962 psychiatric consultations, most regarded subjects who had had previous psychiatric contacts (76.2%) and at least one psychiatric admission (53.6%), and were currently cared for by the Mental Health Services (51.1%). Neurotic/stress-related syndromes (27.98%), schizophrenia (27.67%), and personality disorders (21.81%) were the most frequent ICD-10 diagnoses. The psychiatrist's disposal was to discharge the patient in 49.9% cases, to admit him/her to medical wards of the GH (MGH; 26.9%) or to the acute inpatient psychiatric ward (AIP; 23.1%). MGH group statistically differed from AIP group for being female (p < 0.01), older (p < 0.01), more likely having an ICD-10 diagnosis of neurosis/stress-related syndromes (p < 0.01) or organic mental disorder (p < 0.01), and less likely having a diagnosis of schizophrenia (p < 0.01), being in charge of the Mental Health Services (p < 0.01), and having had previous psychiatric admissions (p < 0.01). These results were confirmed by logistic regression analysis. The study shows that the medical wards of the General Hospital are a significant entry-point for providing psychiatric care of patients with ICD-10 neurotic and stress-related syndromes, even if without specific medical problems.

Locked doors in acute inpatient psychiatry: a literature review

Many acute inpatient psychiatric wards in the UK are permanently locked, although this is contrary to the current Mental Health Act Code of Practice. To conduct a literature review of empirical articles concerning locked doors in acute psychiatric inpatient wards, an extensive literature search was performed in SAGE Journals Online, EBM Reviews, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, EMBASE Psychiatry, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Google, using the search terms 'open$', 'close$', '$lock$', 'door', 'ward', 'hospital', 'psychiatr', 'mental health', 'inpatient' and 'asylum'. A total of 11 empirical papers were included in the review. Both staff and patients reported advantages (e.g. preventing illegal substances from entering the ward and preventing patients from absconding and harming themselves or others) and disadvantages (e.g. making patients feel depressed, confined and creating extra work for staff) regarding locked doors. Locked wards were associated with increased patient aggression, poorer satisfaction with treatment and more severe symptoms. The limited literature available showed the urgent need for research to determine the real effects of locked doors in inpatient psychiatry.

Identifying Key Factors Associated with Aggression on Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Wards

Aggressive behaviour is a critical issue for modern acute psychiatric services, not just because of the adverse impact it has on patients and staff, but also because it puts a financial strain on service providers. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of patient violence to other variables: patient characteristics, features of the service and physical environment, patient routines, staff factors, the use of containment methods, and other patient behaviours. A multivariate cross sectional design was utilised. Data were collected for a six month period on 136 acute psychiatric wards in 26 NHS Trusts in England. Multilevel modelling was conducted to ascertain those factors most strongly associated with verbal aggression, aggression toward objects, and physical aggression against others. High levels of aggression were associated with a high proportion of patients formally detained under mental health legislation, high patient turnover, alcohol use by patients, ward doors being locked, and higher staffing numbers (especially qualified nurses). The findings suggest that the imposition of restrictions on patients exacerbates the problem of violence, and that alcohol management strategies may be a productive intervention. Insufficient evidence is available to draw conclusions about the nature of the link between staffing numbers and violence.

A replication study of the City nurse intervention: reducing conflict and containment on three acute psychiatric wards

Conflict and containment on acute inpatient psychiatric wards pose a threat to patient and staff safety, and it is desirable to minimize the frequency of these events. Research has indicated that certain staff attitudes and behaviours might serve to accomplish this, namely, positive appreciation, emotional regulation and effective structure. A previous test of an intervention based on these principles, on two wards, showed a good outcome. In this study, we tested the same intervention on three further wards. Two 'City nurses' were employed to work with three acute wards, assisting with the implementation of changes according to the working model of conflict and containment generation. Evaluation was via before-and-after measures, with parallel data collected from five control wards. While simple before-and-after analysis of the two experimental wards showed significant reductions in conflict and containment, when a comparison with controls was conducted, with control for patient occupancy and clustering of results by ward, no effect of the intervention was found. The results were therefore ambiguous, and neither confirm nor contradict the efficacy of the intervention. A further intervention study may need to be conducted with a larger sample size to achieve adequate statistical power.

Deprivation of Liberty in Psychiatric Hospital Care: the Patient's Perspective

Deprivation of liberty in psychiatric hospitals is common world-wide. The aim of this study was to find out whether patients had experienced deprivation of their liberty during psychiatric hospitalization and to explore their views about it. Patients (n = 51) in two acute psychiatric inpatient wards were interviewed in 2001. They were asked to describe in their own words their experiences of being deprived of their liberty. The data were analysed by inductive content analysis. The types of deprivation of liberty in psychiatric hospital care reported by these patients were: restrictions on leaving the ward and on communication, confiscation of property, and various coercive measures. The patients' experiences of being deprived of their liberty were negative, although some saw the rationale for using these interventions, considering them as part of hospital care.

Serious untoward incidents and their aftermath in acute inpatient psychiatry: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study

Serious untoward incidents, or sentinel events (suicide, homicide, suicide attempt, serious assault, and absconding of high-risk patients) occur from time to time in association with acute psychiatric inpatient wards. The aim of this study was to discover the impact of serious untoward incidents on inpatient wards. Doctors, nurses, and occupational therapists at three hospitals were interviewed about these events and their impact on their wards. Staff reported feelings of shock, depression, demoralization, upset, loss, and grief, followed by ruminations, guilt, and anxiety. Levels of containment increased, as did the focus on risk assessment. Processing of the emotional impact was hindered by the pace of ward life, a lack of external support, and management investigations. Patient responses were largely ignored. A few staff responded negatively, hindering service improvements. Much more attention needs to be given to the needs of the patient group following incidents. Substantial planning, organization, and investment are required to properly prepare for such events and manage their outcome. Without this planning and action, acute inpatient work has the capacity to be damaging to staff.

Constraints and blocks to change and improvement on acute psychiatric wards – lessons from the City Nurses project

Recent years have seen sustained criticism and inspection of acute inpatient psychiatric wards, with the publication of reports and research leading to policy developments and a variety of efforts to improve perceived deficits. The City Nurses project seeks to reduce levels of conflict and containment on acute wards through the placement of expert nurses on wards to assist with the implementation of changes according to a working model of conflict and containment generation, based on previous research. Evaluation has shown significant decreases in aggression, absconding and self-harm by patients. However, in the course of working with the wards, various constraints and blocks to change have been identified and we describe these in detail in this paper. Analysis of the fieldwork diaries of the two City Nurses identified that change was hindered by limited staffing resources, problems with the physical environment and other resources, insufficient beds and the process of bed management, hierarchical ambiguity and multidisciplinary issues, the overdemanding role of the ward manager, and pervasive anxiety about the potential for serious untoward incidents and their implications for staff. We argue that sustained positive change in acute inpatient psychiatry requires these underlying structural issues to be both acknowledged and, if possible, resolved.

Editorial

Editorial

The prevalence of nursing staff stress on adult acute psychiatric in-patient wards

Concerns about recent changes in acute in-patient mental health care environments have led to fears about staff stress and poor morale in acute in-patient mental health care staff. To review the prevalence of low staff morale, stress, burnout, job satisfaction and psychological well-being amongst staff working in in-patient psychiatric wards. Systematic review. Of 34 mental health studies identified, 13 were specific to acute in-patient settings, and 21 were specific to other non-specified ward-based samples. Most studies did not find very high levels of staff burnout and poor morale but were mostly small, of poor quality and provided incomplete or non-standardised prevalence data. The prevalence of indicators of low morale on acute in-patient mental health wards has been poorly researched and remains unclear. Multi-site, prospective epidemiological studies using validated measures of stress together with personal and organizational variables influencing staff stress in acute in-patient wards are required.

Acute problems persist for mental health

Earlier this year the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and the Healthcare Commission both published reports looking into acute inpatient psychiatric wards. Both produced gloomy findings. The former, Acute Care 2004, was based on a survey of chief executives and ward managers across England (SCMH 2005).

Training in cognitive behavioural interventions on acute psychiatric inpatient wards

There has been a drive towards addressing the types of care and therapeutic interventions available to people with serious mental illness, which is reflected in the latest government mental health policy initiatives. Recent evidence strongly supports the implementation of psychological and social interventions for people with psychosis, and in particular the use of cognitive behavioural techniques. Until now, the main focus has been on people living in the community. This study examines the delivery of psychosocial interventions training to qualified psychiatric nurses and unqualified staff on seven acute psychiatric admission wards in London, UK. The approach had the strength of on-site delivery, follow-up role modelling of the interventions and clinical supervision. Despite this, in some cases the training was less successful, mainly because of staffing and leadership weaknesses. The impact of training in these methods and the implications for mental health education and practice development are discussed.

Reasons for admission and their implications for the nature of acute inpatient psychiatric nursing

The purpose of acute inpatient psychiatric care, and nurses' role within that, are in need of clarification and restatement in order to provide a framework for practice, education, research and development. Inpatient psychiatry has suffered from a paucity of research in recent years. In addition, being a complex system, involving multiple professions with differing ideologies, means that widely accepted succinct descriptions of its purpose are hard to achieve. Yet such a framework is essential to support positive attitudes to patients and for good staff-management relationships. Using an oblique strategy, this paper defines the function of acute inpatient psychiatry, and the role of psychiatric nurses, via a structured examination of the literature on reasons for admission to acute inpatient psychiatric wards. Seven such reasons were discovered and are described: dangerousness, assessment, medical treatment, severe mental disorder, self-care deficits, respite for carers, and respite for the patient. Acute inpatient psychiatric nurses are therefore: providing safety for the patient and others; collecting and communicating information about patients, giving and monitoring treatment; tolerating and managing disturbed behaviour; providing personal care; and managing an environment where patients can comfortably stay. The implications for psychiatric nursing are discussed.

Safety and effectiveness of olanzapine versus conventional antipsychotics in the acute treatment of first-episode schizophrenic inpatients

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of olanzapine compared to typical antipsychotics in the treatment of first-episode schizophrenics in acute psychiatric inpatient wards. Methods: Data were collected from a prospective, comparative, nonrandomized, open, observational study of 904 inpatients with schizophrenia. One hundred and fifty-eight patients fulfilled the criteria for first-episode schizophrenia, defined as (1) the International Classification of Diseases: Mental and Behavioral Disorders, 10th ed. (ICD-10) diagnosis of schizophrenia, (2) antipsychotic naı̈ve, and (3) a course of illness of less than 5 years. Eighty-nine (56.3%) of these patients were assigned to the olanzapine treatment group (OLZ) and 69 (43.7%) to the control group that received treatment with conventional antipsychotics (CON). Safety was evaluated in terms of the spontaneous adverse events reported and a specific questionnaire for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). Clinical status was measured by means of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S). Clinical response was defined as the baseline-endpoint decrease in BPRS>40% plus an endpoint BPRS<18 or an endpoint CGI≤3. Results: The rate of clinical response to treatment in the OLZ was 76.7%, compared to 54.4% in the CON (χ2=8.48; P=.003). Olanzapine was significantly more effective than conventional antipsychotics in lowering the total BPRS score (P=.0003), as well as each of the following BPRS subscales: positive symptoms (P=.0019), negative symptoms (P<.0001), depression (P=.018), and agitation (P=.007), even after mean scores were adjusted for their baseline value and disease duration. Olanzapine also proved to be significantly superior to conventional antipsychotics in lowering mean CGI scores (P=.013). The frequency with which new EPS appeared, or previously existing ones worsened, was significantly greater in the CON than in the OLZ (55.1% vs. 13.5%; P<.001). Anticholinergics were needed more frequently in the CON than in the OLZ (58.0% vs. 6.7%; P<.0001). Conclusions: The results of this observational, naturalistic study show that olanzapine is safe and effective in a nonselected sample of acute, first-episode schizophrenic inpatients.

One day survey by the Mental Health Act Commission of acute adult psychiatric inpatient wards in England and Wales

Objectives : To provide (via the Mental Health Act Commission's “national visit”) empirical evidence on ward occupancy levels, use of the Mental Health Act 1983, nurse staffing, and care of...

Predictors of immediate response in the treatment of mania: The importance of comorbidity

Four hundred thirty-eight bipolar manies were admitted to an acute care psychiatric inpatient ward over a 12-year period. Eighty percent had good and 20% poor immediate outcome. Good outcome patients were characterized by short episode duration, older age of onset, a longer hospitalization, fewer suicide thoughts, and less psychiatric and medical comorbidity than the poor outcome group. Patients were divided into four treatment groups based on primary mode of therapy during index hospitalization: electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), adequate lithium, inadequate lithium, and neither treatment. Patients experiencing good outcome were more likely to be in the adequate lithium group and less likely to receive neither treatment. Regression analysis identified the absence of comorbidity, duration of lithium treatment more than 2 weeks, and duration of episode of less than 1 month as predictors of good outcome at hospital discharge.

Reducing the use of full-leather restraints on an acute adult inpatient ward.

The authors describe a program to reduce the use of full-leather restraints on an acute adult inpatient psychiatric ward of a large community mental health center. It included the introduction of a multipurpose pipe-frame bed, which can be used for seclusion only or seclusion with restraints. Use of the bed, coupled with a seclusion-first policy and rapid tranquilization programs, reduced the time the patients spent in full-leather restraints from 360 hours in the month before the program was introduced to 30 hours two months later.