The costs of community care for former long-stay psychiatric hospital residents

Support for people with long-term mental health problems is gradually being relocated from hospital to community settings. One of the questions raised by the shifting locus of care concerns the cost implications. This paper describes the cost of supporting people with long-term mental health problems who have moved to the community after many years in hospital. After summarizing the national and local policy contexts, and the methodology, the paper describes the people who have moved to the community, the services they use, and the cost of community care.