# The potential of psychiatric outpatient centers to reduce the length of stay in inpatient facilities and the negative impact of COVID-19 on the availability of psychiatric services: the case of Latvia

## TL;DR

This paper examines how psychiatric outpatient centers in Latvia have helped reduce hospital stays but faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Contribution

The study highlights the role of outpatient centers in reducing inpatient stays and identifies the negative impact of the pandemic on psychiatric service availability.

## Key findings

- Outpatient centers in Latvia reduced the length of inpatient stays since 2005.
- The pandemic led to a decrease in both outpatient and inpatient services.
- Other factors influencing the shift to outpatient care need further investigation.

## Abstract

The move from psychiatric hospitals to community-based care is the goal of policies in many countries. Latvia has attempted to reach this goal by establishing two outpatient centers in Riga. Since 2005, when the first outpatient centers opened, the ability of day clinics to reduce the total length of stay for hospital inpatients has been observed, although using the outpatient centers did not affect the number of patients treated. The open-door inpatient wards of the centers also attracted a new patient group. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number and length of stay of both outpatients and inpatients at psychiatric hospitals decreased. Therefore, other factors that can affect the move from psychiatric hospital inpatient care to outpatient centers should be further investigated.