A ward in a house: accommodation for "new' long-stay patients.

A proportion of psychiatric patients still remain in hospital for more than a year who would not be acceptable in community accommodation because of their severe handicaps. This group has been caLled the "new' long-stay. Studies have suggested that this group could be accommodated in high dependency hostels set up in association with a hospital. The first of these hostels was set up at the Maudsley Hospital in 1977. The study reported here was designed to test its effectiveness in the first 4 years of its operation. It was found that this type of accommodation was suitable for a substantial proportion of the "new' long-stay and that it contributed to the alleviation of some of their problem behaviours. It is suggested that further hostels should be set up so that comparisons with other models can be made.