Background: Community care has been criticised as a hazardous policy associated with high rates of adverse events. There is little research evidence as to the truth of this claim.
Method: Best available evidence from public records, interviews, case notes, key workers and general practitioners was assembled to establish: (a) which of the 514 subjects initially identified as having psychotic illnesses had died during an average follow-up of 4.9 years; (b) care currently received by all 286 subjects originally selected for interview; and (c) rates of major adverse events and of admission for these 286 individuals.
Results: Twenty-eight natural and II unnatural deaths had occurred. Among subjects still living at the end of the follow-up, 84% were in contact with specialist mental health services and 11% only with primary care services. Rates of serious violence, imprisonment and homelessness were relatively low. Forty-one per cent had been admitted at least once during a mean follow-up of 3.2 years and 20% at least once under the Mental Health Act. After adjustment, there were no significant differences between standard and intensive care sectors.
Conclusions: Rates of adverse events and 'slipping through the net' are relatively low among individuals receiving community-based services, whether intensive or standard care.