Abstract
This is a descriptive paper. It outlines the running of a specialist service aimed to meet the needs of long-term mentally ill patients who live in community settings in an inner urban district of London.
The service functions in an outreach model from an office base on a large public housing estate. No patient care premises are available on site, consequently all patient activities are carried out in public rooms and other non-mental-health venues.
The staffing of the Team and details of its organisational practice are described: demographic and clinical statistics for two years' working are presented.
Advantages and disadvantages of the outreach model are discussed. The need for such a specialist service in contrast to the traditional generic service model is argued. The paper is intended as a basic description to underlie current evaluative studies. No evaluation data are presented here.
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