General psychiatric services in the community as an alternative to hospital admission: a review of recent research evidence

There have been a number of systematic investigations of alternative ways of delivering psychiatric care, a number of studies of so-called ‘alternatives’ to psychiatric care, and some studies of community care services received after in-patient care. This paper reviews research evidence which suggests that when general psychiatric services are located in community settings, for example psychiatric out-patient services in primary care settings, or multidisciplinary teams in a community base, the use of psychiatric beds in hospital can be reduced.