title: Community treatment orders: background and implications of the OCTET trial.
abstract: Community treatment orders (CTOs) were introduced into the UK despite unconvincing international evidence for their effectiveness. The Oxford Community Treatment Order Evaluation Trial (OCTET) is a multisite randomised controlled trial of 333 patients with psychosis conducted in the UK. It confirms an absence of any obvious benefit in reducing relapse despite significant curtailment of liberty. Community mental health teams need to seriously consider whether they should continue using CTOs or shift their clinical focus to strengthening the working alliance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molodynski