| Abstract: | Summary The paper examines the possibility of discharging mentally handicappedpatients from hospital to a wide range of community resources.Following the assessment of a sample of hospital patients theywere matched to appropriate care settings ranging from independentliving to relatively expensive hostel accommodation. A highproportion of patients were found to be capable of dischargefrom hospital, although for many this would be to relativelycostly settings. Factors which appeared to make some youngerpatients difficult to discharge from hospital were identified,suggesting that newer admissions were more disturbed, which,apart from resource considerations may account for some of thedifficulty experienced in plans to reduce hospital populations. |
