What is it about?
The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased mental health issues but decreased psychiatric hospital admissions. A study in Ontario examined admission data before, during, and after pandemic restrictions. Results showed a 19% decrease in daily admissions during restrictions, and post-restrictions levels remained 6% lower than pre-restrictions. The proportion of involuntary patients and those diagnosed with psychotic or personality disorders increased. The findings suggest that psychiatric admissions did not fully return to pre-restriction levels, requiring preparedness for increased patient acuity through interventions and workforce planning.
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Why is it important?
Psychiatric admissions did not return to pre-restriction levels in absolute rates and patient acuity even after restrictions were lifted. Psychiatric services need to prepare to assess and respond to any increased acuity through patient interventions, workforce planning, and mental health support for staff.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Psychiatric inpatient services in Ontario, 2019–2021: a cross-sectional comparison of admissions, diagnoses and acuity during the COVID-19 prerestriction, restriction and postrestriction periods, CMAJ Open, September 2023, Canadian Medical Association (CMA),
DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20220158.
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