UMass Memorial Medical Center faces criticism for decision to convert psych beds for med/surg care

Leaders of Worcester-based UMass Memorial Medical Center are facing backlash from nurses, mental health advocates and government officials over their decision to convert 13 psychiatric beds to medical and surgical care beds, reported The Boston Globe.

The hospital's psychiatric unit currently contains 27 beds.

Officials at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Monday UMass Memorial's plan to convert the beds "does not adequately meet the needs of the patients in the community," and asked the hospital to hold off, according to the report.

UMass Memorial executives said the change is needed because the hospital reached capacity so frequently in 2016 it was forced to turn away more than 500 patients who required serious medical care for conditions such as strokes, heart problems and physical trauma, The Boston Globe reported.

However, critics of the plan say the conversion of beds will restrict access to mental health services for many poor and vulnerable patients. The are 2,750 psychiatric beds across the state, but other mental health facilities in the region are too far away and lack the full-service care UMass Memorial provides.

"They are prioritizing medical/surgical patients over the psychiatric patients," Lisa Goss, a union nurse who works in the psychiatric unit, told The Boston Globe.

However, hospital executives say the need for more medical/surgical beds is immediate. "Somebody's going to die if we don't move forward with this," said former emergency room physician and UMass Memorial CEO Eric Dickson, MD.

Click here for the full report.

More articles on patient flow:
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State to shutter child psychiatric unit at Massachusetts hospital

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