The Early Intervention Service: the first 18 months of an Inner London demonstration project

Abstract

Rigorous studies of community alternatives to hospitalisation show that they are feasible and effective but have spawned considerable debate about their methodology, replicability, and appropriateness for normal clinical practice. In Britain, many demonstration projects have been centrally funded and evaluated initially by the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent and latterly by Good Practices in Mental Health (Renshaw et al, 1988). Such community-based projects have attempted to avoid the problems of community mental health centres in the United States which have, with some important exceptions, failed to offer a comprehensive service that would allow closure or a significant drop in bed numbers at state hospitals (Dowell & Ciarlo, 1983). In practice, the design of community services is very dependent on local circumstances, including the demography of the population, existing service provision and attitudes. For this reason, planners and practitioners need to be aware of many practical options for service delivery.