Patients' Confidence
Country
Czech Republic
Description
In this project, the main aspect is the informational support of patients with psychiatric disease. Users of the self-help organization Kolumbus aim to improve the knowledge of patients about medical institutions, to mediate with the outside world, and to provide access to juridical help to the patients, to activate them, get a feedback about psychiatric hospitals, and to engage them in the long-term also in the evaluation of the care system.
Aims
To improve knowledgeableness of patients in medical institutions, intermediate a contact with outside world, an access to juridical help to this patients, to activate them, get a feedback about psychiatric hospitals, and to engage them in the long term also to evaluation of system of care in context.
Areas
Health, Social services
Effectiveness
Quantitative indicators:
- there were 400 patients of psychiatric hospital addressed in 2005, from this number half of these became clients of this project and its services was offered;
- patients confidents have own experience with mental disease, so they have great feeling and patience for quality offering of this service, which can be taken also as psychotherapeutics treatment;
- regular supervisions facilitate increasing of erudition of patients confidents and so to make this kind of care better.
By good mental health care the time in hospitalization can be decreased and so return of patients to their families and society would be much easier
Sustainability
Project is arranged by members of Kolumbus org., who have juridical education or they are educated in courses of juridical minimum. They are also trained in work with patients, and they are supported by professionals having experience with people with mental disease. There is also possibility of supervision.The project is financed from grants and foundations.
Innovation
Innovation of this project is in creation of this kind of service in Czech Republic, which contributes to innovation of therapeutic methods in psychiatry; its added value is also in possibility of social integration of people with mental disease to society. By this integration these people get opportunity to assert themselves at the job market.Innovation can be found also in fact, that self-helper organization Kolumbus, thanks to own experiences with illness can solve problems of patients, who have no possibility during stay in hospital to defend their rights and interests.
Added Value
Added value is seen:
- in an individual approach to each patient in psychiatric hospital and thanks to patients confidents of this project get to upgrading of mental health care and at the same time increasing of their social integration;
- in a reduction or elimination of discrimination of people with mental disease by advocacy of their rights and interests
- in that psychiatric hospitals help to solve patients problems social workers, who are very busy in accordance to great amount of clients and other duties. They cannot solve patients´ orders deeply in way patients´ confidents do.
Patients´ confidents collect experiences and knowledge from others confidents in Czech Republic, so they can offer to users of psychiatric care needful information about solving of problems and to advise competently and to refer about examples of solving problems in different hospital.
Transferability
Project is transferable to other psychiatric wards in Czech Republic. There is still trying to extend this project to more hospitals, at the same time there are limits given by financial situation of organization and arrangement of suitable candidates for this activity. Kolumbus organization cooperate with Global Initiative Psychiatry at publication about this project called Patients´ confidents, which is going to be distribute in countries of former Soviet Union. Because this project is kind of fieldwork, expenses are not so high. Patients´ confidents can do administration work at home and at the same time to spare financial resources needed for this activity. For replication of this project, it´s necessary to establish self-helper corporation of people with same health handicap and on the basis of their own experiences to find out needs and interests of similarly handicapped people and to promote these needs and interest in medical institutions.There is also emphasis at education of confidents.
Mainstreaming Potential
At the basis of this praxis and notes about talks with clients to promote rights, interests, needs of people with mental handicap to community policy, policy of self-government and to complex law about mental health.
Costs of the Project
Assumed expenses for 2006 are 334.000 Czech crowns.
People involved in the Project (number of people and profession)
Members of Kolumbus org., who have juridical education or they are educated in courses of juridical minimum. They are also trained in work with patients, and they are supported by professionals having experience with people with mental disease.(number is not specified)
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Project
Valuators perceived similarity of this project to Vidacentre and contrary. They saw main positive in direct work of users and their direct experience with disease, good transferability of project and clear filling of white place among services mainly in regions, where Kolumbus visits psychiatric hospitals. They recommend for next time to elaborate more carefully delivered application; it was not elaborated concretely and there were mentioned services, which are not ensured by this organization.