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Mental health day centres

Their clients and role

Community Psychiatry

Tom Burns, Professor of Community Psychiatry

Department of Community Psychiatry, Jenner Wing, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, e-mail: jcatty{at}sghms.ac.uk

AIMS AND METHOD

Mental health day centres have been little researched. We carried out a 1-week census at the four day centres run by a London borough.

RESULTS

The centres catered for a group with long-standing mental health problems, mostly under community mental health team care. A surprising number were suffering from physical ill health. They attended the centres primarily for social reasons or to participate in creative groups such as music and art. Very few were concurrently attending day hospitals.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Further work is essential to understand the distinction between NHS day hospitals and Social Services day centres in terms of utilisation and client group. This client group's needs, particularly for physical health care, require urgent attention.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Catty, K. Goddard, and T. Burns Social Services Day Care and Health Services Day Care in Mental Health: Do they Differ? International Journal of Social Psychiatry, June 1, 2005; 51(2): 151 - 161. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Catty, K. Goddard, and T. Burns Social Services and Health Services Day Care in Mental Health: The Social Networks and Care Needs of their Users International Journal of Social Psychiatry, March 1, 2005; 51(1): 23 - 34. [Abstract] [PDF]