Cost-offset following specialist treatment of severe personality disorders

Abstract

Service usage of 24 patients with a personality disorder was established for one year pre-treatment and one year post-treatment via a prospective survey of the patients, their original referrer and their general practitioner. The average annual cost of psychiatric and prison services (calculated from extra-contractual referrals (ECR) tariffs and Home Office data) was Σ13 966 pre-treatment compared to Σ1308 post-treatment, representing a cost-offset of Σ12 658 per patient per year. The average cost of the specialist admission was Σ25 641. Thus the cost to the Nation for treating these personality disordered patients in a tertiary treatment resource would be recouped within two years and represent a saving thereafter.