Community-led services for mental health care: a study.

This paper reports findings from a study into the effects of relocating untrained personnel from the hospital into the community, over a nine-month period. The study measured the dependent variables of hospital admissions, length of stay, resultant cost savings and community caseloads. Non-significant decreases occurred in bed occupancy as well as increases in bed occupancy, more demanding community psychiatric nurse (CPN) caseloads and an increasing use of the community services by females. Future studies will need to distinguish the most appropriate models of service delivery in a community setting. The findings, verified nationally, have major ramifications for mental health nurses if they are to provide effective care to the seriously mentally ill patient.