Abstract
Psychiatric rehospitalisation is costly and impacts the community reintegration of patients with schizophrenia. Long-stay inpatient rehabilitation units address the complex needs of people with severe schizophrenia and facilitate community reintegration. This study is a retrospective audit of hospitalisation episodes in schizophrenia patients admitted to an Australian long-stay inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation unit (LPRU). Four parameters were measured during the pre-admission and post-discharge periods. They were: the mean number of psychiatric inpatient admissions (Mean IP), the proportion of time spent in hospital (LOS Proportion), the interval between hospitalisations (Days to Rehospitalisation) and the mean duration of each hospitalisation (Mean LOS) experienced. Univariate statistics analysed the changes in the four parameters from the pre-admission to the post-discharge period. It examined the association of outcomes with age, gender, length of stay in LPRU, and post-discharge duration. The cohort of 80 patients was followed up post-discharge for a mean duration of 3.5 years, which was comparable to the pre-admission period. Thirty-five patients experienced no rehospitalisation after discharge. The Mean IP dropped significantly by 50%, the LOS Proportion was three times less, and the Days to Rehospitalisation increased by 1.8 times. The length of stay in LPRU significantly affected the reduction in LOS Proportion. The outcome parameters remained stable during the period after discharge.