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Old 21-02-2009, 01:39 AM   #6
Sometimes Crazy
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What circumstances mean I will get hospitalised?

For the most part, psychiatrists avoid admissions to a psychiatric hospital unless it is absolutely necessary. The first intervention during a crisis would usually be the home treatment team, sometimes referred to as the crisis team.

What constitutes as a crisis is quite individual and varies from person to person. For the most part, it is circumstances which lead to the safety of someone, or the safety of others, being pulled in to question. This would most commonly be suicidal ideation, which is where someone has thoughts and / or plans about killing themselves. It can also be a psychotic episode where someone cannot distinguish between the "real" world and delusions, or when someone is going through a manic episode which needs to be controlled, although these are not the only circumstances, just examples of a few.

As mentioned above, the first port of call is usually the home treatment team (HTT), the aim being to avoid hospital admission altogether. This is where a patient is seen in their own home by members of the HTT, who are usually Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPNs) and social workers. How often they visit is determined by them / the psychiatrist, although they usually visit at least once a day until the crisis is over, or a patient gets admitted to a psychiatric ward.

The HTT can help a patient manage their medication, especially if that is an area of difficulty during a crisis. If someone is at risk of overdosing, the HTT can bring over medication for that one day and help that person to take their medication.

If it is decided that the HTT is not able to work with the patient and / or no progress is made then usually an admission a psychiatric ward is required. If an admission to hospital was deemed necessary, and the person was refusing, then they would be sectioned under the mental health act, which is further explained in another section of this sticky.

If the patient agreed to go into hospital, then it is what is referred to as a "voluntary" or informal admission and they are free to discharge themselves at any point. However, if their condition deteriorates and they insist on being discharged, they can be sectioned to prevent them from leaving. Again, there is more on this in another section of the sticky along with information on what psychiatric hospitals are like day to day.


Last edited by Sometimes Crazy : 04-06-2009 at 11:59 PM.


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