Home treatment teams: what should they do? A qualitative study of patient opinions.
BACKGROUND
Home treatment teams (HTTs) have limited evidence of altering hospital admissions. There is no consensus on what HTTs "do", and a considerable lack of data on whether they deliver patient-relevant meaningful care. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has recently established the Home Treatment Accreditation Scheme (HTAS) to institute a quality standard for HTTs, though it is unclear whether such accreditation could of itself measure effective care.


OBJECTIVE
To explore opinions of HTT service users on the care they received to guide future research and service provision.


METHODS
Ten ex-HTT patients were interviewed on the care they had received, using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.


RESULTS
Positive aspects of HTT intervention included a rapid, accessible and crisis-focused approach, though changing staff and appointment times were considered unhelpful. Proposals were made for greater psycho-and occupational-therapeutic inputs to manage long-term care, and for provision of peer-support within HTTs.


CONCLUSIONS
HTTs were valued but service users' focus was on goals notably different to factors generally assayed by existing research. There is a severe lack of longitudinal clinical and patient-centred outcome data. HTAS provides a potential vehicle through which this could be addressed.
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust , London , UK and.
Rebecca A
RA
Carpenter
Derek K
DK
Tracy
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D036301:Qualitative Research
Crisis team; HTAS; crisis and home treatment; patient opinion; qualitative