Identifying alternatives to old age psychiatry inpatient admission

"The results suggest that if enhanced community services were available, a significant minority of inpatients could be more appropriately supported in their own homes at a cost considerably lower than that currently incurred."

Identifying alternatives to old age psychiatry inpatient admission: an application of the balance of care approach to health and social care planning

S Tucker, C Brand, M Wilberforce, M Abendstern, D Challis
BMC Health Services Research 2015, 15:267  doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0913-1

Read more here.

Introduction of a Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Protocol for Older Adult Psychiatric Patients

"Overall the results have shown that introduction of a VTE prophylaxis assessment protocol on an Older Adult Psychiatric ward has increased the number of patients that received a VTE risk assessment."

Introduction of a Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Protocol for Older Adult Psychiatric Patients
A Croxford, A Clare, K McCurdy
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u205852.w3226

Read more here.

Tool to improve the speed, efficiency, and documentation of physical examination in new psychiatric inpatients

"The baseline measurement from this audit demonstrates a clear failure to meet audit standards regarding the physical examination of psychiatric inpatients. When reviewing the patient admission clerkings, it was clearly evident that there was no standardised approach to the documentation of physical examination in patients' medical records."

The psychiatric inpatient physical health assessment sheet (PIPHAS): a useful tool to improve the speed, efficiency, and documentation of physical examination in new psychiatric inpatients
A Pettipher, R Ovens
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u206294.w2558

Read more here.

The challenge of change in acute mental health services

"VOCALISE can be used to explore staff perceptions of implementation climate and to assess how staff attitudes shape the successful outcomes of planned changes."

The challenge of change in acute mental health services: measuring staff perceptions of barriers to change and their relationship to job status and satisfaction using a new measure (VOCALISE)
C Laker, F Callard, C Flach, P Williams, J Sayer, T Wykes
Implementation Science, 2014, 9:23

Read more here.

A new model for quality improvement in acute inpatient psychiatry

"The acute assessment model attempts to address the need for the NHS to deliver more for less, whilst remaining focused on service-user and staff satisfaction."

A new model for quality improvement in acute inpatient psychiatry: observational data from an acute assessment unit
J Hayes, R Gibbons, F Outim, S Tang, A Chakraborty
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Short Reports, 2012, 3(9)

Read more here.