Mental Health
Hospital Inpatients
The majority of current available information on Mental Health in the NHS Scotland comes from acute and psychiatric hospitals. As part of the Scottish Morbidity Record system which covers all inpatient and day case activity in Scottish hospitals, information on people admitted to mental illness specialities has been collected (from SMR04) since the 1960s. Data are collected on all patients at the time of admission to hospital and at the time of discharge from hospital.
The most recent revision of the SMR04 mental health record came into effect on 1st April 1996 and one of the notable changes that was made was the facility to classify the psychiatric speciality: five mental illness specialities are currently available: general psychiatry, psychiatry of old age, adolescent psychiatry, child psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.
Admissions to mental illness specialties in hospital in Scotland are classified into 3 main types:
First admissions: Patients who have not previously received psychiatry inpatient care
Re-admissions: Patients who are re-admitted following a break from psychiatric inpatient care
Transfers: Direct transfer from another psychiatric hospital or from one consultant to another within the same hospital
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In 2008/09 there were 22,983 inpatient admissions to mental illness specialties. This compares with a figure of 26,700 in 1984/85.
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Total inpatient admissions peaked in 1997/98 at 32,050. The increase from earlier years is mostly accounted for by a rise in the number of re-admissions over time (which continued into the early 2000s), rather than increases in the number of first (i.e. new) psychiatric admissions.
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There has been a continuous reduction of female first admissions since the 1980s. Male first admissions by contrast have remained relatively stable.
Trends of the number of admissions to mental illness specialties for each of the 3 listed categories of admission are shown in the charts below. The data cover the years ending March 1985 to March 2009. Tables of detailed admission and discharge information are also available.
Admission to mental illness specialities in Scottish hospitals - MALE admissions; 1984/85 to 2008/09
Admission to mental illness specialities in Scottish hospitals - FEMALE admissions; 1984/85 to 2008/09
Tables of Psychiatric Hospital Activity
Admissions to mental illness specialties by admission type - 1985 to 2009
Psychiatric admissions, admission type by age and gender - 2005 to 2009
Psychiatric admissions, residents and discharges by Health Board of residence and Community Healthcare Partnership - 2005 to 2009
Improving Mental Health Information Programme
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