Membership and management: structures of inter-professional working in community mental health teams for older people in England.

Background: Community mental health services are regarded as the preferred first tier of specialist psychogeriatric support, with integrated multidisciplinary teams believed to offer improved decision-making and greater continuity of care than separate single-profession services. In England over 400 community mental health teams (CMHTs) form the cornerstone of such support, yet research has neither assessed progress toward integrating key professional disciplines nor the nature of their membership and management arrangements.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all CMHTs for older people in England, seeking a combination of objective and subjective information on team structure and management.