Authors (including presenting author) :
Tse LY(1), Ip CK(2), Chan F(2), Ho CM(1)
Affiliation :
1. Occupational Therapy Department, Tai Po Hospital
2. Department of Psychiatry, Tai Po Hospital
Introduction :
Challenging behaviours are the leading cause of psychiatric inpatient admissions for individuals with learning disabilities and inpatient services consumed the largest portion of mental health budget. (Oxley et al, 2013) In order to decrease length of stay and minimise unpredicted readmission, it was important to strengthen the collaboration with hostel setting on patient care and environmental adaptation. A “Bridging care” hostel visit program was established for occupational therapists and nurses to provide education on patient care, environmental recommendation and facilitation to learning disability hostels.
Objectives :
To evaluate satisfaction towards the "Bridging Care" hostel visit program, in terms of education on patient management, pre-discharge transition from hospital to hostel, communication with hospital staff and overall satisfaction.
Methodology :
Thirteen hostel visits were made in Feb 2023- Aug 2024 to original hostels that inpatient intellectual disability resided, by in-patient occupational therapist and nurse. A questionnaire of seven 5-point likert scale questions evaluating program effectiveness were sent to professional staff (occupational therapist or social worker) of intellectual disability hostel via web or fax. Six questionnaires were returned.
Result & Outcome :
Overall, 100% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the hostel visits provided by occupational therapists and nurses from Tai Po Hospital. In terms of patient management, 50% of respondents reflected that the education of hostel visits addressed patient behavioural issues, while 66.7% believed they helped with handling patient’s day-to-day challenges and that recommendations on assistive devices were effectively provided. For predischarge facilitation, all respondents agreed coordination and recommendation was effectively provided addressing the different approaches used by hospitals and hostels in handling patients. All respondents agreed that the program enhanced pre-discharge planning and facilitated smoother transitions from hospital to hostel. All respondents also agreed that improved communication between hospital occupational therapists, nurses and the hostel staff was established.
The Bridging care hostel visit program showed satisfactory result in providing education and recommendation on care and management of inpatient learning disability patient. It could also effectively bridge the gap and facilitate transition from hospital to hostel settings and enhance communication between in-patient occupational therapist, nurse and hostel staff.
