The role of the child psychiatric ward in health care: experiences with different types of admissions over a period of twenty-one years

Abstract

AbstractThe concept of the child psychiatric unit is considered. The character, capacities and activities of one unit are described and some features of the admissions over its first 21 years are discussed in relation to the findings of other studies. Among the factors considered are the patients' presenting diagnoses, their sex, their physical health and their length of stay in the Unit. Some possible future directions for the Unit are discussed, and the pattern of work over the two decades covered by the study is related to current and future requirements. It is suggested that for several categories of disorder, a child psychiatric unit offers unique advantages in both assessment and treatment.