Crisis Resolution

Aims

The Crisis Resolution Team (CRT) is a multi-disciplinary community based mental health team aiming to provide a safe and effective home-based assessment and treatment alternative to in-patient care.

The service will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year for people with mental health difficulties who are in crisis. The key features of the service are that, it will be mobile, provide a rapid response and act as a gatekeeper to inpatient services.

The key principles that underpin Home Treatment and Crisis Resolution are

• Enhances clinical outcome
• Shorter acute episodes
• Less use of hospital admissions
• Reduced bed days
• Greater levels of therapeutic co-operation
• Preferred by users and carers
• Targeteg and effective use of resources
• External intervention can be decisive
• Most people in crisis can be treated safely and effectively in the community
• The social context is part of the problem and therefore part of the solution
• Opportunities for learning and relapse prevention are maximised if the users and carers are involved in finding solutions

Main functions of the service

• To provide a service to people experiencing a mental health crisis
• 24 hour, 365 days of the year rapid response to mental health crises
• To provide a flexible service to clients, giving support in the most appropriate manner and environment
• The service will make full use of all community resources, including the service users own social system in any intervention
• To provide an integrated Mental Health service through liaison with other statutory and independent mental health service providers
• To complement other out of hours mental health services, e.g. Social Services Emergency Duty Team and the Psychiatric Liaison Team

Objectives

The service will be provided in the person's home, involving their own social system in order to enable the crisis to be resolved in familiar surroundings and in a manner that promotes independence and choice

Wherever possible the service will engage with carers and consider their need for support

Once the crisis is resolved, the service will ensure that the person is linked in to ongoing care and treatment within the CPA framework if this is appropriate. Both in the resolution of the crisis and in identifying ongoing care the tem will work with: the client, their carers, their social system, voluntary and formal agencies, GPs and CMHT case coordinators.

The team will work with the client in their community to ensure that the care and support provided is sensitive and appropriate to the individual's circumstances, gender and ethnicity.

Treatment plans will be developed through a process of negotiation with the client and their social system and will emphasise harm minimisation. Clear information about services available will be provided in order to promote choice. The team will produce care plans that reflect the views and wishes of its clients, are safe, effective and regularly reviewed.

Who is the service for?

The team will prioritise the service for people suffering mental illness and who:

• Are in mental health crisis
• Are being considered for admission to hospital
• Present a current risk to themselves or others
• Are resident in the catchment area

Operation of the CRT

The model used by CRT is a biopsychosocial one with an emphasis on social systems intervention. This requires a shift in perspective from the individual, to the system of which the individual is a part. This way of working enhances the collection of information, facilities ownership of issues, generates solutions to identified problems and promotes a common understanding of the plan.

The team will provide rapid help and treatment to people who are in a mental health crisis, involving their carers and social networks in order to resolve the crisis. As far as possible this will be provided in the person's own environment with as little disruption to their normal routines as can be managed.

Key Contacts

Patrick McGlynn (Programme Manager)

Debbie Marr (Programme Administrator)