General hospital psychiatry
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Gen Hosp Psychiatry · Sep 1990
Factors affecting length of stay in a psychiatric intensive care unit.
As a response to the challenge posed by an increasing number of agitated and violent patients, there is in Canada a growing number of psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs), in both general and psychiatric hospital settings. In this article, the functioning of such a unit in a general hospital context is reviewed. ⋯ The factors influencing the functioning and LOS of this PICU are analyzed. A possible "deskilling" of the staff in other wards is discussed, and alternative explanations are hypothesized in an attempt to shed light on the interaction between this unit and its environment.