James Roe, Josephine Holland, Anne-Marie Burn, Elinor Hopkin, Lorna Wild, Michelle Fisher, Saeed Nazir, Tamsin Ford, Bernadka Dubicka, Anthony James, Helena Tuomainen, Nicole Fung, Kate Horton, Adam P Wagner, Richard Morriss, Kapil Sayal
BACKGROUND: There are significant clinical, policy and societal concerns about the impact on young people (YP), from admission to psychiatric wards far from home. However, research evidence is scarce. AIMS: To investigate the impact of at-distance admissions to general adolescent units, from the perspectives of YP, parents/carers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) including service commissioners, to inform clinical practice, service development and policy. METHOD: Semistructured interviews with purposive samples of YP aged 13-17 years (n=28) and parents/carers (n=19) across five large regions in England, and a national sample of HCPs (n=51), were analysed using a framework approach...
April 25, 2024: BMJ Ment Health