Facilities for mental healthcare

Each Centre for mental healthcare (Dutch: centrum voor Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg/CGG)(opens in new window) has separate activities in place for children and young people, adults, and elderly people. The CCG is organised in multiple teams at various locations. Each team is made up of one or more psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. The care assistance takes place in a CCG during consultations. There are no admissions or stays.

A sheltered housing initiative (Dutch: initiatief voor beschut wonen/IBW)(opens in new window) is intended for adults and elderly people with severe, prolonged mental problems. They can live in a residential unit of the sheltered housing initiative itself or in some other (personal) residential unit. There the IBW offers them ‘recovery support’.

Psychiatric care homes (Dutch: psychiatrisch verzorgingstehuis/PVT)(opens in new window) offer residential care to adults and elderly people with severe, prolonged psychiatric problems. A psychiatric care home offers these people ‘residential recovery care’. These are people who:

• for psychiatric reasons require support in their daily activities, but who do not need permanent medical care
• do not need permanent physical care
• require support to promote their inclusion and participation in society
• are not, or not yet, capable of living independently. They need someone they can call on at short notice when that proves necessary.

The Department of Care recognises the psychiatric hospitals (Dutch: psychiatrische ziekenhuizen)(opens in new window) in Flanders and one psychiatric hospital in the Brussels-Capital Region. A psychiatric hospital offers treatment and care for patients with severe mental problems. The hospitals have specialised units for this. The implementation and monitoring of compulsory admission to a psychiatric hospital comes entirely under the authority of the Flemish Care Inspectorate (Dutch: Zorginspectie).

The Departement of Care concludes rehabilitation agreements (Dutch: revalidatieovereenkomsten) (in Dutch)(opens in new window) with various institutions for psycho-social and physical rehabilitation. The rehabilitation is always focused on reducing limitations arising from disorders, the functional condition and addiction, and on regaining autonomy. The period of rehabilitation is always limited in duration.