Responsibility and accountability in community mental health teams

Abstract

Community mental health teams are handicapped by long-standing ambiguities about responsibility and accountability. Professional responsibilities need to be separated from practitioner's responsibilities as employees, and clear lines of accountability established accordingly. This requires stronger delegated operational management responsibility at team level. Greater attention should be paid to defining shared, core responsibilities among team practitioners employed by health and social services. These are here defined as ‘care coordinating’ responsibilities and provide a means of reconciling the care programme approach and care management into coherent practice.