What is a day hospital?
A day hospital is a health care facility in which the patient receives the therapeutic techniques he/she needs without leaving his/her family environment. The patient is hospitalized for a certain number of hours during which he/she receives the treatments he/she requires. At the end of the treatment, the patient returns home. A day hospital treats different pathologies such as eating disorders, certain psychiatric illnesses, diseases of old age, children’s disorders or can even receive oncological treatments. Each day hospital has different schedules and staff resources, and even covers different treatment areas.
A day hospital is responsible for providing comprehensive care to those who suffer from some type of disorder.
Objectives of the day hospital
A day hospital focuses on providing comprehensive care to people suffering from some type of mental disorder and who are in a situation of exacerbation of their pathology that, due to its severity, requires intensive treatment in partial hospitalization, maintaining the patient’s links with the community and the family during treatment. At the same time, another of the objectives is to intensively strengthen the patient’s abilities to maintain interpersonal relationships and reestablish deteriorated social ties. These centers also try to get the patient and family to participate actively in the therapeutic process. Finally, individual, group and collective activities are carried out to foster autonomy and promote integration in a stable manner.
What does a day hospital consist of?
A day hospital performs a multidimensional and interdisciplinary evaluation and diagnosis, with a biological, psychological and social approach necessary to ensure quality care. It also performs various treatments to patients according to the appropriate protocols according to their pathology, with pharmacological and individual and group psychotherapeutic techniques. It offers care and support to families, actively involving them in the therapeutic process of their family member. The day hospital guarantees at all times understandable, sufficient and adequate information on diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. It has some services such as nursing care that evaluates and cares for patients with specific care integrated into individual therapeutic plans. Finally, it evaluates the social and family situation of the patient to address the needs that are detected.