A Cost Analysis of Untoward Incidents in a Medium Secure Unit

Abstract

All untoward incidents perpetrated by 36 patients — residents in a medium-secure hospital — over a period of six months were examined using a prospective design. Demographic and psychiatric details of patients involved in incidents were compared with those of patients not involved in incidents. Financial costs associated with incidents were calculated.

A minority of patients were found to be responsible for the majority of incidents. Patients detained under criminal sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 were involved in disproportionately more incidents than their civil section counterparts. The female patients involved in untoward incidents all had a diagnosis of personality disorder and were over-represented in the number of incidents. However, most of the financial burden of untoward incidents was incurred by those incidents perpetrated by male patients. Likewise, although patients detained under the legal category of psychopathic disorder were involved in a higher number of incidents, higher costs were associated with incidents perpetrated by patients detained under the category of mental illness.