A One-year Follow-up of Individuals Discharged from a High Dependency Rehabilitation Placement

Individuals with complex psychosis and enduring mental health difficulties often benefit from a specialist rehabilitative placement prior to their transition to the community from a hospital setting. A specialist multi-disciplinary team (SAM), within the South East of England, was commissioned to reduce lengths of admission to these placements where appropriate and support individuals in moving to less restrictive settings. This service evaluation reviewed 34 individuals discharged from High Dependency Rehabilitation (HDR) placements between January 2019 – December 2020, who were supported by SAM. Service-users' location one year on from being discharged, their level of restriction, the amount of bed days pre-admission (up to one year prior) and post-admission (up to one-year post), and the frequency of community team contact at the one-year point were reviewed. Findings revealed that over half of new placements were located within the community one-year post-discharge and there was a reduced level of restriction compared to their HDR placement. In addition, this evaluation found a reduction in the average number of bed days for the year following HDR admission, as compared to the year before HDR. However, over a third of individuals remained an inpatient for the full year post-discharge. Tentative recommendations are outlined to gain further insight into factors underlying these findings.