Working across boundaries: clinical outcomes for an integrated mental health service for people with intellectual disabilities.
BACKGROUND
The Mental Health Service for People with Learning Disabilities (MHSPLD) is a service development in keeping with UK government policy that promotes cross agency working and access to mainstream mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities. We aimed to show whether the service model brought about improvements in people's mental state and level of functioning.


METHODS
Community and inpatient groups were compared across three time points using a range of clinical outcome measures that assessed psychiatric symptoms, risk, needs and level of functioning.


RESULTS
Inpatients and community groups had similar mental health problems, but inpatients had higher unmet needs and lower functioning, and were at greater risk. There were significant improvements across the range of outcome measures in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Working with mainstream mental health services and across health and social service boundaries delivers effective mental health care for people with intellectual disabilities.
Hall
I
I
Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership, London, UK.
Parkes
C
C
Samuels
S
S
Hassiotis
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D015897:Comorbidity; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration