Does extra staff change clinical practice? A prospective study of the impact of extra resources in mental health teams.

Journal article

OBJECTIVE: To compare patterns of clinical activity amongst existing staff in two inner-city community mental health teams before and after their enhancement with extra resources using a new activity schedule containing 11 comprehensive and mutually exclusive practice categories. METHOD: Patterns of clinical activity amongst existing members of two inner-London community mental health teams were compared before and after the addition of extra resources. RESULTS: The amount of time spent in face-to-face contact with patients and carers showed no meaningful change following team enhancement. Patterns of clinical activity amongst team members remained relatively static. CONCLUSION: Adding resources to community mental teams without considering how to target the time released amongst existing staff may reduce their capacity to work more innovatively.

Authors: Kent, A; Fiander, M; Burns, T

• Journal: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica
• Volume: 107
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 50-53
• Publication date: 2003-01-01
• DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.02386.x
• EISSN: 1600-0447
• ISSN: 0001-690X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Community Mental Health Services; Humans; Middle Aged; Adult; Prospective Studies; Random Allocation; Adolescent; Medical Staff; Aged; Patient Care Team