Assertive community treatment: development of the team, selection of clients, and impact on length of hospital stay.
Mental health services have been criticized for the lack of focus and response to people suffering from a serious mental illness (SMI). Assertive community treatment (ACT) offers the potential for greater partnership working between the user and provider of mental health services. The author describes one approach in developing ACT in the UK. Four criteria were developed to identify the most appropriate service users for ACT: those with SMI, illness instability, illness disability and risk to self or others. Fifty-five clients were identified using these criteria and tracked for their length of hospital stay and frequency of admission 2 years before acceptance to an ACT team and for 12 months after. Duration of hospital stay was unchanged although both the frequency and total numbers of bed days were reduced.
Jones
A
A
Clinical Services, North East Wales NHS Trust, Mental Health Directorate, Wrexham, UK. Adrian.Jones@new-tr.wales.nhs.uk
D000328:Adult; D019090:Case Management; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D018579:Patient Selection; D006113:United Kingdom