The effects of the new legislation of involuntary retention on admissions to the Salzburg Psychiatric Hospital.

In 1991, the new legislation of involuntary retention (Unterbringungsgesetz - UbG) came into force in Austria which brought in new conditions and procedures for the administration of patients who are involuntary admitted or in closed wards. This law replaces the old legislation of involuntary retention (Krankenanstalrengesetz - KAG). In our study at the 1st Department of Psychiatry the last two years of the KAG were compared with the years 1993 and 1994 of the UbG. This showed that the absolute number of involuntary admitted patients (1990: 194; 1994: 657) as well as the mean length of stay at the psychiatric hospital (1990: 11.4 days; 1994: 14.8 days) increased since the UbG came into force after there had been a distinct reduction in the number of involuntary retentions during the last years of the KAG. The fact that there have been these increases despite the opposite intentions of the UbG and the further expansion of community mental health services indicates that the more intensive concern with the questions of threat to the health and life of the patient and/or other people has led to new views on the admission and discharge policies for psychiatric wards.