Evaluation of mental health services delivered before and after the introduction of pilot Mental Health Centers in Poland using monitoring indicators.

Objectives: The study assessed the performance of Mental Health Centres compared to previous non-integrated mental health facilities.

Methods: The study used National Health Fund (NHF) data of individuals over 18 years treated in 27 centres (January 2017 - February 2020). Performance indicators from 19 months before (N = 124,497) and after the introduction of Mental Health Centres (N = 182,789) were compared for outpatient care, community treatment teams, inpatient wards and day wards.

Results: The total number of patients who received mental health care increased, compared to before the establishment of those Centres; whereas the number of hospitalisations decreased by 6% and the number of patient days per person decreased by 9%. Day care saw a 14% increase in admissions following the introduction of Mental Health Centres, with a 5% decrease in patient days per person. The proportion of patients in community care increased by 86%, in outpatient care by 62% and in day care by 14%. The number of first-time patients after the introduction of Mental Health Centres increased and the number of follow-up patients decreased. For all groups of mental disorders, the priority indicator in inpatient care decreased, while increasing in outpatient and community care for most groups of disorders.

Conclusions: The results confirmed the effectiveness of the National Mental Health Protection Programme project in relation to the availability and reduction of inpatient treatment through Mental Health Centres. The methodology used in this study can be used for assessing the effectiveness of Mental Health Centre activities in subsequent stages of the pilot.