Residential care in Italy. National survey of non-hospital facilities.

Abstract

In Italy, where all mental hospitals have been gradually phased out since 1978, psychiatric patients requiring long-term care are being treated in non-hospital residential facilities (NHRFs). However, detailed data on these facilities are sparse. The Progetto Residenze (PROGRES) residential care project is a three-phase study, the first phase of which aims to survey the main characteristics of all Italian NHRFs. Structured interviews were conducted with the manager of each NHRF. On 31 May 2000 there were 1370 NHRFs with 17 138 beds; an average of 12.5 beds each and a rate of 2.98 beds per 10 000 inhabitants. Residential provision varied ten-fold between regions and discharge rates were very low. Most had 24-hour staffing with 1.42 patients per full-time worker. There is marked variability in the provision of residential places between different regions; discharge rates are generally low.