Acute versus sub-acute care beds: Should Australia invest in community beds at the expense of hospital beds?

摘要

Sub-acute care community units are a relatively new addition to Australia's mental health system. A recent systematic review suggested that they might be able to provide cost-effective alternatives to hospital admissions (Thomas and Rickwood, 2013). On this basis, Commonwealth and State governments have begun to expand sub-acute care programmes with the aims of preventing unnecessary acute care admissions, shortening hospital lengths of stay and reducing readmis-sion rates. However, questions remain about whether the introduction of these new sub-acute care units has in fact reduced the pressures on public hospitals. The outcomes of sub-acute care programmes in Brisbane and Adelaide shed further light on the 'real-world' effects of sub-acute care.