The Joint Department of Mental Health of Siena (Italy): A Project for the Integration of Health Services, Specialized Education in Psychiatry and Scientific Research - Abstract
We describe the construction of a Joint Department of Mental Health in the Province of Siena (Italy), among a population of 272,000 residents. Three institutions took part in the project: the University and the Hospital of Siena, the USL (the Local Health District) 7. In this paper we report the articulation of services for adults and present the first results of the work relating to the low rate of hospital admissions and the high number of patients who underwent the treatment. This model represents an update with respect to the 1978 Italian Health Care Reform, with the involvement of the University in the overall project of Community Mental Health service.