Service innovation: assertive outreach teams for adults with learning disability

Abstract

Assertive community treatment (ACT) was developed in the early 1970s as a means of coordinating the care of people with severe mental illness in the community. A Cochrane review of the effectiveness of ACT for the general adult population found that people receiving ACT were more likely to engage with services, and were less likely to be admitted to hospital (Marshall & Lockwood, 2000). The National Service Framework for Mental Health (Department of Health, 1999) and the NHS Plan (Department of Health, 2000) called for a total of 220 assertive outreach teams by April 2003.