Establishing process indicators for joint working in mental health: rationale and results from a national survey

Effective joint working in mental health is a national concern as indicated by a series of governmental directives and initiatives aimed at improving practice in this area. Joint working is fundamental to the successful implementation of 'community care'. Many people, particularly the public, equate the introduction of the Community Care Act (Department of Health, 1990), with the beginning of community care as a social policy. In reality, however, community care has a much longer history in the UK involving the shift in the 1950s from providing care in the hospital to providing care in the community. Thus, one of the most obvious reasons for this concern expressed in the media and felt by the public is that 'community care' isn't working. While this is an important consideration, it is not the only explanation as to why joint working has come to occupy such a prominent position in the minds of health strategists and politicians. This paper explores our concern with joint working in mental health and proposes one way in which joint working can be effectively monitored and measured.