Activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals 2010,the annual report published by the Mental Health Information Systems Unit of the Health Research Board, shows that the total number of admissions to inpatient care has continued to fall.¹

In 2010, 1,798 cases were admitted to psychiatric facilities with an alcohol disorder, of whom 637 were treated for the first time. Figure 1 presents the rates of first admission between 1990 and 2010 of cases with a diagnosis of alcohol disorder.² The trend of recent years has continued, with again a reduction in the rates of admission for alcohol disorders in 2010.  Thirty-nine per cent of cases hospitalised for an alcohol disorder stayed just under one week, while 22% were hospitalised for between one and three months.                  

In 2010, 966 cases were admitted to psychiatric facilities with a drug disorder, of whom  412 were treated for the first time.  Since 2006 there has been a continuous increase in the rate of first admission of cases with a diagnosis of a drug disorder.  The report does not present data on drug use and psychiatric co-morbidity, so it is not possible to determine whether or not these admissions were appropriate. Figure 2 presents the rates of first admission between 1990 and 2010 of cases with a diagnosis of drug disorder.  

Other notable statistics on first admissions for a drug disorder in 2010 include:

• The majority were to psychiatric units in general hospitals (259, 63%), followed by admissions to psychiatric hospitals (102, 25%) and to private hospitals (51, 12%). 
•  6% were involuntary admissions.
• The rate was higher for men (14.2 per 100,000) than for women (5.2 per 100,000).

The majority of cases hospitalised for a drug disorder stayed just under one week (54%), while most were discharged within three months.

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1. Daly A and Walsh D (2011) Activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals 2010: main findings. HRB Statistics Series 15. Dublin: Health Research Board.  www.drugsandalcohol.ie/16329
2. Annual reports from the National Psychiatric In-patient Reporting System (NPIRS) for the years 1990 to 2010 are available on the Health Research Board website at www.hrb.ie/publications/mental-health