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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Community mental health teams for older people in England
— variations in ways of working | | Author(s) | Hilde Verbeek, Angela Worden, Mark Wilberforce |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 33, no 3, March 2018 |
| Publisher | Wiley, March 2018 |
| Pages | pp 475-481 |
| Source | http://www.orangejournal.org |
| Keywords | Mental health [elderly] ; Services ; Living in the community ; Community care ; Psychiatric treatment ; Interaction [welfare services] ; Coordination ; Social policy ; England. |
| Annotation | Integrated community mental health teams (CMHTs) are a key component of specialist old age psychiatry services internationally. However in England, significant shifts in policy, including a focus on dementia and age inclusive services, have influenced provision. The aim of this study was to portray teams in 2009 against which subsequent service provision could then be compared. A bespoke national postal survey of CMHT managers collected data on teams' structure, composition, organisation, working practices, case management and liaison activities. A total of 376 CMHTs (88%) responded. Teams comprised a widespread of disciplines. However just 28% contained the full complement of professionals recommended by government policy. Over 93% of teams had a single point of access but some GPs bypassed this, and 40% of teams did not accept direct referrals from care homes. Initial assessments were undertaken by multiple disciplines, and 71% of teams used common assessment documentation. Nevertheless many social workers maintained both NHS and local authority records. In 92% of teams, nominated care coordinators oversaw the support provided by other team members. However inter-agency care coordination was less prevalent. Few teams offered the range of outreach/liaison activities anticipated in the national dementia strategy. Compared with previous studies, teams were found to have grown and changed, with a clear increase in non-medical practitioners, particularly support workers. Measures to facilitate integrated care within CMHTs (eg, common access and documentation) were widespread, but integration across health and social care/primary and secondary services was less developed. Consideration of barriers to further integration, and the impact of current reforms is potentially fruitful. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-180323230 A |
| Classmark | D: I: K4: PA: LP: QK6: QAJ: TM2: 82 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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