Facilitating access to somatic care for adults suffering from severe mental disabilities

For the purpose of improving the management of somatic disorders among patients suffering from severe intellectual development and autism spectrum disorders, a specific admissions mechanism has been implemented at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). The Adult Psychiatric Hospital Unit (UPHA), a complex intervention unit, collaborates with HUG's Disability Program. From May 2018 to May 2019, 29 requests for hospitalizations were accepted. These requests primarily originated from private practice physicians (42 %). In some cases, immediate admissions were urgently organized, and in others a 13-day waiting period was imposed. Hospitalizations were adapted to the patient: more often than not, these were short (48 %), with 6 hospitalizations extended for an average 103-day period. A clinical case illustrates the healthcare management provided.