Department of Acute and Crisis Conditions

The Department of Acute and Crisis Conditions is focused on working with individuals who experience acute symptoms of various illnesses, both for symptoms that are occurring for the first time and require clinical and differential diagnosis processing, or have developed progressively due to inadequate therapy or the lack of it, as well as refractoriness to the applied treatment.

The hospital has an almost daily turnout of patients who come either for continuation of treatment after acute care at one of the psychiatric facilities or for individual appointments. Patient admission involves observation and psychiatric assessment in the first days of stay, as well as comprehensive diagnostic evaluation in the shortest time possible.

This type of department is primarily focused on reducing acute psychopathology (various descriptive psychotic symptoms), on the risk of self-harm or on the risk of harming others, and stabilizing the physical condition. The department has a capacity of 32 beds intended for the treatment of acutely psychotic, suicidal or aggressive patients, as well as those undergoing detoxification from substance dependence or are compromised by comorbidity that directly jeopardize their lives and health.

The department operations include a complete team approach (psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, social worker, physiotherapist, internist, neurologist; accompanied by laboratory tests and other examinations as indicated - EKG, ultrasound, EEG, X-ray) followed by the initiation and titration of appropriate psychopharmacotherapy, directing and involving patients in therapeutic activities (psychotherapeutic group, socio-therapeutic group, work-occupational therapy, recreational and other therapies).

The patients are referred to one of the rehabilitation departments for further therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation. Visitation is held three times a week and Therapeutic Community (TC) once a week. The specialty of this type of department lies in encountering various acute psychopathological conditions that require quick and adequate response in terms of using de-escalation techniques and an assertive approach to the patient which the hospital is trying to provide. The therapeutic team of the department prepares a personalized treatment plan for the patient in the first days of their stay, which takes place after the acute psychopathology has subsided in one of the departments that meet the needs and goals