A solution to the ossification of community psychiatry

The aim for seamless care that has long been the ultimate goal of good community psychiatry in the UK has disappeared, and there is now much needless argument over models of delivering care that ignore its main philosophy. It is argued that this ossification of care has not only made it ineffective, but has also promoted demoralisation and burn-out in the workforce, as the locus of control has shifted from clinician to managerial imperative. An initiative that can break up the opaque structures that hinder continuity of care is now available and a suggestion is made for a flexible, invigorated community care team system based on smaller catchment areas that allows a single team to combine the elements of assertive outreach, crisis resolution and early intervention with in-patient care.