Rate of community treatment orders and readmission orders following reconfiguration of community mental health services.

Objectives: Community treatment orders (CTOs) are a controversial practice as they extend the practice of involuntary treatment into the community. This study aimed to determine whether there was a difference in the rate of CTOs and revocation (readmission) orders following the implementation of a recovery-orientated model across four adult mental health services.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted prior to and after the reconfiguration of services. Population data for those aged 15 to 65 were obtained from a census and rate rates were calculated.

Results: Prior to the reconfiguration, there were 893 individuals subject to a CTO and 136 of these individuals had a revocation of their CTO (i.e. were involuntarily readmitted). This represented a rate of 100.8 individuals on CTOs per 100,000 population and a rate of 15.4 revocations per 100,000 population. Following the reconfiguration, the rate of CTOs increased by 10% and there was a trend for the rate of revocation orders to have decreased by 17%.

Conclusions: Rates of CTOs and readmissions varied across services and further research is warranted to identify factors associated with these increased rates. Additionally, the very high rate of CTOs in the catchment areas warrants further examination.