Day hospitals for mentally ill patients provide a setting where patients can be actively treated and assisted to develop proper skills for better coping with their illnesses and stress in general. They provide a unique setting in which diversified skills in the management of the mentally ill patients are used effectively. Day hospitals are cost effective in the spectrum of care for psychiatric patients. This paper discusses the role of day hospitals in the current practice of psychiatry. The discussion is based on review of the recent literature, visits to a number of day hospitals in Solihull and Birmingham in west midlands, UK as well as interviews with the consultant psychiatrists in charge of them