Assertive Outreach Teams - introduction

Bristol's Assertive Outreach Teams provide intensive support for more severely mentally ill people who find it more difficult to engage with more traditional services. Many of their service users will have a forensic history and/or a dual diagnosis (mental health combined with drugs/alcohol dependency).

Care and support is offered in their homes or some other community setting, at times of the day suited to them. Workers can be involved in direct delivery of practical support, care co-ordination and advocacy as well as more traditional therapeutic input. The aim of the service is to maintain contact and increase engagement.

Bristol's Assertive Outreach teams have the following characteristics: a team approach, a defined client group, a team caseload (no larger than 12 service users for each member of staff), planned long-term working with individuals, much of the work outside a service setting, evening and weekend availability with 24-hour access to an on-call system for service users on the team caseload (this may be provided by another team e.g. by the crisis team).