Background

The Community Mental Health Teams in Swansea have been established since 1995. The need for the Community Mental Health Team arose out of the Mental Illness Strategy for Wales and implementation of the Community Care Act in April 1993. There are four teams, each covering a geographical area within the City and County of Swansea.

Area 1 team is based at Tredillion House and can be contacted on 01792 469600

Area 2 team is based in Central Clinic and can be contacted on 01792 517853

Area 3 team is based at Ty Einon and can be contacted on 01792 899909

Area 4 team is based in Clydach and can be contacted on 01792 841435.

The service is provided between Monday and Friday between the hours of 9.00a.m. and 5.00p.m. and access to the service is via the Duty Officer available via these contact numbers during these core hours. We work closely with the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team who are accessible outside these core hours until 9.00p.m. and at weekends between 9.00a.m. and 9.00p.m. via Cefn Coed Hospital on 01792 561155 or via the Emergency Duty Team in Social Services.

The Multi-agency and Multi-disciplinary team comprises ; Medical, Nursing, Social work, Occupational therapy, together with Administative and clerical support.

Mission Statement

The CMHT’s will provide an integrated service to those individuals and their families/carers suffering from the consequences of mental illness, with priority given to those with serious mental illness, enabling them to live as fulfilled a life as possible within the community. All service users of the team will receive equality of care dependant upon need.

Team Function

The main focus of the teams activity will be the delivery of statutory services in the community for adult service users. The CMHT provides multi-disciplinary working in the community through implementation of the U.A./C.P.A. comprising of joint allocation, assessment, planning and review of referrals. A named Care Co-ordinator is identified to oversee the care provided within the standard or enhanced packages of individual care.

The CMHT works in accordance with current joint Health and Social Services Department Policies and Procedures. The minimum standards established across the City and County of Swansea are adhered to in the following areas;

• Standard referral and assessment package (UA/CPA)
• Allocation procedure
• Minimum response time

Established links exist between the CMHT and statutory agencies and voluntary organisations to further develop services that are locally based and responsive to the needs of service users.

Referrals

Using the UA/CPA process the service is aimed at individuals who are diagnosed as suffering from more serious forms of mental illness. Within this assessment is provided to persons falling within these broad criteria:

• People who experience or who have a history of major psychiatric problems.
• People who require assessment under the Mental Health Act e.g. for the purpose of admissions to hospital for psychiatric in-patient treatment.
• People with identifiable psychiatric symptoms who meet the eligibility criteria and require intervention, ongoing supervision and support.

The CMHT’s strive to respond to referrals as stated in the minimum standards i.e. urgent referrals are responded to within one working day and non-urgent referrals within five working days.

Monitoring and Evaluation

As part of the CPA process unmet need is identified to ensure service planning is needs led.

Ongoing caseload monitoring and patterns of referral processes are undertaken by the Team Leader and the Community Nurse Manager utilising both Trust and Social Services databases.