The Mental Health Advice Centre in Lewisham.
This paper describes the use of a psychiatric service within a catchment area and the effects on existing services of establishing a community-based service, the Mental Health Advice Centre (MHAC). Major effects were the expansion of ambulatory services and an increased access to patients from primary care. Some of these findings are discussed. The importance of monitoring and evaluating novel community services is emphasised.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010361:Patients / Q000145:classification*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000639:trends; D013223:Statistics as Topic