A Forensic Community Mental Health Team is specialist multi-disciplinary mental health service focused on assessing and treating mental disorder in offending or potentially dangerous psychiatric patients. Whilst the basic members and set up of a forensic community mental health team is similar to generic or general adult teams, they specialise in risk assessment and management of violence, usually using structured professional judgement tools such as the HCR-20.
The core members of an FCMHT are usually a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Community Psychiatric Nursing staff, Occupational Therapist and Forensic Psychologist. Other team members may include support workers, pharmacist, Police liaison officer and social workers. The staff to patient ratio is usually higher in FCMHTs compared to generic teams due to the increased risk inherent in managing mentally disordered offenders and the need for example to have two person visits.
The patients cared for by FCMHTs usually suffer from major mental disorders such as Paranoid Schizophrenia (ICD-10 code F20.0), or Bipolar Affective Disorder, but also commonly have comorbid substance misuse or Personality Disorder and have a history of serious, usually violent, offending. Patients cared for by FCMHTs come from a variety of sources including prisons and court or police cells, secure psychiatric hospitals and generic CMHTs.
FCMHTs commonly fulfill other roles such as supporting generic teams in their assessment and management of risk in relation to their patients, attendance at multi agency risk management meetings (e.g. Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements), providing consultation and advice to Criminal Justice Social Workers in their management of offenders, and assisting counter terrorism police investigating persons about whom there is a concern about mental disorder.