Transfer of long-stay psychiatric patients: a preliminary report of inter-institutional relocation.

A large mental hospital closed in November 1986. Twenty-eight female patients formed the first group to be transferred to a second psychiatric hospital. Patients in the receiving hospital were identified as controls. Both transfer and control groups were studied before the move and at six- and 12-month follow-ups. No differences in mortality or morbidity were found between groups, but the transferred patients increased in behavioural dependency. Within the transfer group, patients became more positive towards the move over time. Results are discussed with reference to previous studies of relocation effects on elderly people.