Community learning disability teams: perceived effectiveness, multidisciplinary working and service user satisfaction

The locus of care for people with learning disabilities has shifted from institutional/residential care to community care, with Community Learning Disability Teams (CLDTs) providing support for people with learning disabilities, and their family caregivers, in the community. A survey of the perceived effectiveness of 145 CLDT members, 27 family caregivers and 21 people with a learning disability was undertaken. Findings suggest high levels of perceived effectiveness with the services provided by the CLDTs, but caregivers gave the lowest satisfaction ratings. Although overall effectiveness was rated highly there is no room for complacency. There was limited evidence to support the view that multidisciplinary CLDTs are more effective than unidisciplinary teams. Further research is required in this area and ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of CLDTs is suggested.