A new unit for long-stay psychiatric patients: organization, attitudes and quality of care.

The present study describes and evaluates aspects of care in a new residential unit for chronic patients. The findings suggest that the unit is relatively resident-orientated in its management practices and that the staff are similarly orientated in their attitudes. Staff also hold generally optimistic attitudes to residents' potential accomplishments and consider themselves highly involved in decision-making. They also show high levels of positive interactions with the residents. Various aspects of staff attitudes and behaviour are positively correlated with seniority or length of time on the unit. The results are discussed in terms of the unit's organizational structure and its possible impact on residents' functioning.