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Case register data are used to describe the basic characteristics of clients who used the community psychiatric nursing, and mental health social work services between 1976 and 1985. These data are placed in the context of psychiatric services as a whole. Observational data are used to describe the day-to-day work undertaken by the two groups of workers.

Although no statistically significant differences in the clinical categories of the clients seen were found, there were significant differences in the ways in which the two groups of workers interacted with their clients. Community psychiatric nurses were found to mainly apply a medical model of care, whilst specialist social workers were found to be mainly concerned to improve the social adjustment of their clients.

There was evidence that the considerable shift away from caring for clients in the 'schizophrenia' clinical category was associated with the community psychiatric nurses' attachment to primary care teams. It was concluded that there were considerable unmet needs for the long-term non-hospital care of this group of clients.