Mental Health and Learning Disabilities

Study Service re-design for older people with mental health difficulties is described, where the addition of an Assertive Outreach Team integrated with Day Hospital, Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) and existing in-patient facilities was implemented to decrease the reliance on hospital services and provide a greater emphasis on community intervention. Method Comparison of audit data before and after service re-design. Main findings Following implementation capacity for community contact increased from 48% to 66%. Bed occupancy decreased from greater than 100% to less than 61%. Assertive Outreach staff spent 55% of their working week in face-to-face contact activity compared to 34% in CMHTs. Conclusion Data indicate a shift in balance toward community oriented services. Further research is required to provide evidence this was as a result of implementation strategy and that service change resulted in more effective treatment.