In-patient treatment in functional and sectorised care: patient satisfaction and length of stay
Abstract
Background: Debate exists as to whether functional care, in which different psychiatrists are responsible for in- and out-patient care, leads to better in-patient treatment as compared with sectorised care, in which the same psychiatrist is responsible for care across settings.
Aims: To compare patient satisfaction with in-patient treatment and length of stay in functional and sectorised care.
Method: Patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of psychotic, affective or anxiety/somatoform disorders consecutively admitted to an adult acute psychiatric ward in 23 hospitals across 11 National Health Service trusts in England were recruited.
Patient satisfaction with in-patient care and length of stay (LoS) were compared (trial registration ISRCTN40256812).
Results:In total, 2709 patients were included, of which 1612 received functional and 1097 sectorised care.
Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in sectorised care (β = 0.54, 95% CI 0.35–0.73, P<0.001).
This difference remained significant when adjusting for locality and patient characteristics.
LoS was 6.9 days shorter for patients in sectorised care (β = −6.89, 95% CI –11.76 to −2.02, P<0.001), but this difference did not remain significant when adjusting for clustering by hospital (β = −4.89, 95% CI –13.34 to 3.56, P = 0.26).
Conclusions: This is the first robust evidence that patient satisfaction with in-patient treatment is higher in sectorised care, whereas findings for LoS are less conclusive.
If patient satisfaction is seen as a key criterion, sectorised care seems preferable.
Citations
V.J. Bird, D. Giacco, P. Nicaise, A. Pfennig, A. Lasalvia, M. Welbel and S. Priebe.In-patient treatment in functional and sectorised care: patient satisfaction and length of stay. British Journal of Psychiatry Volume 212, Issue 2 February 2018 , pp. 81-87
Page last reviewed: 12 June, 2025
Metadata
Author(s): External author(s) only
Collection: 123456789/20
Subject(s): Anxiety Disorders, Inpatient, Patient Satisfaction, Psychiatrist, Psychosis
Format(s): Article
Date issued: 2018-02
ISSN: 1472-1465
ID: 245