EAHM

2nd EAHM Psychiatry Symposium in Berlin

On March 27 and 28 the Working Party on Psychiatry of the European Association of Hospital Managers had invited European managers and professionals of psychiatric care to join them on the banks of the Spree in Berlin, in order to attend the second crossborder psychiatry symposium entitled “How toreinforcetheefficiencyofmental healthcare?”

The organisation of thismeeting at the beautiful Maritim Hotel had been entrusted to a well-known Baden-Baden company.

Numerous participants, coming from 12 different European countries, listened to presentations of a high scientific level, but also to testimonies by patients and relatives.

Let’smention some recurring topics, such as hospital andmental healthcare accreditation/ certification (United Kingdomand France),

Lean Management and efficiency improvement (Denmark), early detection of psychoses thanks to prevention through the TIPS project (Norway), perspectives of patients and their difficulties in overcoming their disease (Norway), care programassessment through patient data collection (Netherlands).

Were also discussed questions around the improvement of efficiency through better organised funding systems (Germany), or an optimalmatch between available human resources and actual patient needs (United Kingdom).

These very rich exchanges and knowledge gathering sessions were followed the next day by workshops aroundmost of the issues listed above.

In conclusion, one can say that participants to this excellent symposium have unanimously acknowledged its great quality and particularly its high scientific level.Many have expressed the wish to see another conference of the same kind organised in 2009 or 2010, probably under sunnier European skies. (Symposium review by Jean Teheux, Former Chairman of EAHM’SWorking Party on Psychiatry, Hospital Director, Lierneux, Belgium).