Treatment is provided in compliance with Finnish Current Care guidelines. However, the special nature of the patients’ problems often calls for the need to resort to individual solutions. The majority of patients suffer from schizophrenia. Patients often suffer from violent behaviour and aggressiveness as well as substance abuse problems. Many of them have a history of treatment at other psychiatric hospitals. These are some of the factors that set special requirements for the treatment provided at Niuvanniemi Hospital, the treatment methods used and related research and development.
Patient-centricity and multiprofessional teamwork set the starting point for the planning of treatment, its implementation and evaluation. From the very beginning, patients participate in the treatment to the extent of their resources and abilities. When assessing the need for treatment, the patient is viewed holistically as a biopsychosocial entity. Patient surveys provide valuable information on patient satisfaction regarding the treatment they receive; this feedback forms the backbone of patient-oriented care as required by the hospital’s quality control system.
When patients arrive at the hospital, the degree of their illness and issues with violent behaviour often require treatment to be commenced on the most secure wards of the hospital. Pharmacological treatment is often required to establish basic treatment alliance with the patient, together with concomitant and gradually increasing interactive treatment methods. As the patient’s control over the illness and the violent behaviour improves, the patient is transferred to wards offering more autonomy and responsibilities.
Before being discharged from the hospital, patients get to practise life-management and self-control on rehabilitative treatment wards. This typically involves home-leave, visiting relatives and care-homes, or hospitals providing further rehabilitation.