Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT)

We are a fully multi-disciplinary team consisting of highly experienced professionals with a diverse background of working within mental health care. 

Our aim is to facilitate and support discharge and repatriation of services users from low and medium secure care back into the community across Essex. The aim is to reduce length of stay in secure settings and improve outcomes for this group of service users through intensive support.

We will work closely with our local low and medium secure units to identify potential service users who have planned discharge and will work with them through in-reaching for six-nine months prior to their discharge. The rationale for this is to build therapeutic alliances, provide consistency of approach and to enable us to identify the person's needs alongside the inpatient team. We are then able to being the process of applying for funding, identifying accommodation and building a robust plan of care. We aim to work creatively with our partners at Phoenix Futures to ensure care plans are as comprehensive as possible.

• We accept referrals made on a Consultant to Consultant basis.
• We require a completed referral form (see link below) and an up to date HCR-20v3 risk assessment.
• All referrals are discussed within the MDT.
• We accept referrals of service users who are currently cared for in low or medium secure units, including facilities that are out of area (e.g. Kneesworth House) or within the private sector (e.g. St Andrew's)
• Service users must be from the Essex area and have intention to return to the Essex area on discharge (subject to any restrictions imposed)
• They must have a diagnosed severe and enduring mental disorder.
• The service user must be at a point in their care whereby their mental state has stabilised to some degree and discharge into the community is being considered as realistic over the coming 6-9 months.
• We will liaise with referrers, current care coordinators etc, carry out assessment and facilitate hand over of care coordination.
• For restricted Service Users, we will take on the role of Social Supervisor and report to the Ministry of Justice as required.