Services for mentally disordered offenders in community psychiatry teams

Community teams in Wessex were surveyed to determine their capacity to support mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) in the community. All teams experienced difficulties in supporting MDOs. Proficiency levels of key workers did not match the demands of this group. Furthermore, the compartmentalized n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of forensic psychiatry 2000-12, Vol.11 (3), p.571-586
Main Authors: Vaughan, Phillip J., Pullen, Nick, Kelly, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Case- Load Characteristics
Community care
Community mental health services
Community services
Community Teams
England
Forensic psychiatry
Learning disabilities
Mdos
Medical sciences
Mental health
Mental illness
Mentally ill people
Offenders
Organization of mental health. Health systems
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Team work
Teamwork
United Kingdom
Violence
Wessex
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Summary:Community teams in Wessex were surveyed to determine their capacity to support mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) in the community. All teams experienced difficulties in supporting MDOs. Proficiency levels of key workers did not match the demands of this group. Furthermore, the compartmentalized nature of services led to appropriate expertise being denied to MDOs. Learning disability teams had problems of discriminating between health and social care. They had the highest levels of MDOs on their case-loads and their clients posed the greatest challenge in terms of violence, self-harm and sexual offences. Drugs and alcohol were highly implicated in the behaviour of all client groups except those with learning disabilities. The number of clients subject to 'formal' psychiatric supervision was low, and day services and suitable accommodation were common service deficiencies. Services should adopt a more co-operative style of working with improved communication between secure institutions and community teams. Additionally, community teams could be supplemented and supported by district forensic community teams, to maintain MDOs in mainstream services.
ISSN:0958-5184
1469-9478
DOI:10.1080/09585180010004829