The project START – CRS Comprehensive rehabilitation to self-sufficiency, number of 
project: NF-CZ11-OV-2-025-2015, within program CZ11 "Public Health Initiatives" founded from "Norway Grants 2009 - 2014" anticipates the new requirements of the previously defined objections which are related to the Reform of psychiatric care in the Czech Republic. Within the scope of the existing running of Psychiatric hospital in Šternberk it solves not only further improvement and extension of medical and social services provided but it also focuses on bridging the hospitalization and extramural areas.
The project consists of the several partial areas. The first part consists in START Programme focused on practicing of self-reliance, healthy lifestyle and support of cognitive and social functioning of the hospitalized patients with serious mental disorder and with the difficulties related to the return from hospitalization to the home conditions. This is the stationary coeducational programme for 4 weeks in which mainly occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists will be participating.
The second part of the project is providing the groups with educational, supportive and self-supportive themes determined for the hospitalized and extramural patients and also for their relatives and next to kin. The groups will be divided according the basic diagnosis (alcohol addiction/abuse, non-alcohol addiction/abuse, psychotic disorders, depressions). The accent will be put on follow-up treatment, identification and influencing of risk behaviour and preventive influence on the level of the patient and his/her family. Regarding staffing the groups will be provided with psychologists, therapists - ex-users, a doctor. In the course of the project we intend to profile and provide expertise to the peer-specialists who will gradually become the group leaders. In further prospects peer activities would be also used for other services in the scope of activities of our hospital.
The third area includes the objective to improve quality of services within the meaning of activation, training, physical, hobby and social activities. These will be newly completed by the possibility of club activity which will be also offered the extramural patients. The reason of these activities is not only to support the effect of treatment but mainly to improve quality of life and prevent stigmatization and social exclusion of the patients with mental disorder. Part of investment means mainly procuring the material conditions for providing the offered activities and the increasing expertise of engaged staff in the area of psychiatric care and in the professional and practical area.
The last content area of the project is making closer cooperation with the social organizations and civic associations dealing with the individualized consultancy and case management with the focus on the patients with mental disorder. At the beginning, it will provide space for advisory work and case management of the mentioned organisations within the hospital departments and partial areas of the project START. The following phase includes making personal contact with the specialists from the medical and social areas, closer transfer of knowledge during seminars and further development of cooperation so that the desirable interconnection between medical and social services for the patients with mental disorder occurs on the local level. In the scope of the project there are also planned 4 work sessions with the specialists from the donor state in order to exchange the experience in the field of comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation.
The area of The Psychiatric hospital Šternberk
