Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:230-233
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Transfers from a general hospital psychiatric service to a state hospital
PG Cotton, A Bene-Kociemba and S Roses
The authors investigated the marked decline in the number of patients
transferred from an inpatient service of a general hospital to a state
hospital during a 30-month period. The major reasons for transfer were
unmanageable behavior, high risk of suicide or homicide, administrative
considerations, and unremitting or deteriorating course. They found that
administrative concern about three factors--the many problems of patients
likely to be transferred, staff anxiety, and the relationship between the
general hospital and state hospital units--can facilitate the decline in
the number of patients transferred to a state hospital.
