Self-admission to inpatient treatment in psychiatry: lessons on implementation

BACKGROUND: Interest has increased in programs offering self-admission to inpatient treatment for patients with severe psychiatric illness, whereby patients who are well-known to a service are afforded the opportunity to admit themselves at will for a brief period of time. The aim of the present study was to examine patient experiences of practical considerations during the start-up phase of a self-admission program in an eating disorder service. METHODS: Sixteen adult participants in a self-admission program at a specialist eating disorders service were interviewed at 6 months about their experiences during the implementation phase. A qualitative content analysis approach was applied in order to identify recurring themes. RESULTS: Six subcategories regarding implementation and logistics of self-admission were identified: “Start-up problems”, “Problems associated with reserving a bed”, “Lack of staff continuity”, “Not enough emphasis on long-term goals”, “Too demanding in terms of freedom and responsibility”, and “Suggestions for alternative models”. CONCLUSIONS: Practical recommendations can be offered for the implementation of future self-admission programs, such as thoroughly informing all participants about the rationale behind self-admission with particular emphasis on patient accountability, establishing a waiting list procedure for occasions when all designated beds are occupied, and assigning an individual contact staff member responsible for each self-admitted patient. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol is retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as ID: NCT02937259 . ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-017-1505-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.