Inpatient Services

Adult Admission Unit

St Louise’s

The St Louise’s admission unit has 30 beds, 9 of which are high observation beds. The catchment area for the admission unit is the Dublin North Central area.

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Admission to St Louise's Unit

All Patients are admitted under the care of a named Consultant Psychiatrist and patient care is delivered by the multi -disciplinary team, which comprises of medical nursing staff and HSCP's . Treatment will vary according to the specific needs of the patient, an individual care plan is completed by the MDT with the patient and may include drug therapy and psychosocial interventions. The physical health of patients is also attended to, with routine physical examination carried out following admission.

Unit Philosophy

• Our philosophy is to care for patients in a non-judgmental manner that acknowledges the values and self-beliefs of each individual, and to care for patients in a holistic way maintaining dignity and respect at all times.
• We acknowledge the importance of clients being actively involved in their own care and maintaining their own independence.
• The unit is accessible, and provides care in an equitable manner, to the wide variety of communities in Community Care Area 7.
• We recognise the important role of the family and encourage their participation.
• We operate as a team, supporting colleagues encouraging education, creativity, the sharing of ideas and trying new approaches.
• We are open and accountable to the people to whom we provide a service.

Unit Objectives

• To provide a comprehensive range of treatment and care for those with acute mental health problems.
• To provide a specialised assessment and treatment are for those patients who are acutely ill, at risk to themselves or others, in crisis, and in need of specialist in-patient treatment and care.
• To identify factors which have influenced or caused initial presentation or relapse of their condition.

Discharge Planning

• Development of a collaborative approach to Discharge Planning at the earliest possible stage, focusing on the client, the identified risk factors and using a health promotion approach.
• In accordance with their preparation towards discharge, the MDT will provide support to enable the patients to cope with many of the challenges experience in preparation for discharge.
• To prevent deterioration of those who develop mental health problems by early detection and intervention, emphasis is placed on the importance of the social and family support networks of the individual and the support and education, which they need.
• Following identification and implementation of the levels of support the client needs in the community in order to prevent similar relapse the client is then discharged

Activity Programme on the Unit

The person on the unit has access to a full threptic and recreational timetable within the activity centre on the unit.

Supportive care is offered by expanding knowledge, offering health promoting activities, developing social skills and encouraging self-expression within structured and unstructured groups. It is recognized that illness inhibits motivation and interest in participation therefore sensitivity to the needs of the individual as well as the group is required. Groups are for the most part nurse-lead to empower the individual to return to the community on discharge while all the time maintaining their independence, respect and dignity.

Facilities

• Kitchen
• Gymnasium
• Art & Craft Room
• Relaxation Room
• Enclosed Garden
• Courtyard
• Activity Office

Links with external agencies

St Louise’s has links with the following external agencies:

SHINE (formerly Schizophrenia Ireland) Aware Recovery Ireland National Learning Network Job Club Citizen Information MABS The Irish Advocacy Network Garda Drug Unit.

http://www.shine.ie/ http://www.aware.ie/ http://www.recovery-inc-ireland.ie/ https://rehab.ie/national-learning-network/ http://www.citizensinformation.ie http://www.mabs.ie http://www.irishadvocacynetwork.com/

Irish Advocacy Network