ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a novel model of acute inpatient to community clinical psychology service provision which has been developed in our unit, within the UK NHS psychiatric service. This way of working involves the delivery of psychological assessment and intervention on an acute inpatient ward, and where appropriate, continued post discharge in the community teams to complete therapeutic aims. The model thus offers ongoing support through the service user’s transition from the ward environment to the community service, offering the opportunity to complete therapy and hopefully reduce readmission and maximize recovery. There are also related benefits of negating the need for onward referrals, reassessment and unnecessary waiting times. Case studies are used to illuminate the work. Some provisional data on the model’s hypothesized impact on reducing readmission rates and subsequent bed days is also presented.
