Manchester's Assertive Outreach Service (AOS) is a
unique partnership between Manchester Mental Health and Social Care
Trust and Harp, a voluntary sector organisation and registered
charity.
The Service works specifically with people who have been
involved with mental health services and who, for various reasons
may find it difficult to engage.
AOS provides a flexible and creative client-centred approach to
reaching those who are most disengaged from society and services.
The service also provides time limited intensive support to service
users between 18 years and 65 years old to meet their complex
health and social needs and wishes. The aim of the service is to
sustain community living and enable users to take up active roles
as citizens.
The Service has full responsibility for assessment, care
planning and reviews, using the Manchester Care Assessment Schedule
(MANCAS) and Care Programme Approach (CPA) processes and
documentation. An assigned care co-ordinator has overall
responsibility for ensuring appropriate assessment, care and
review.
A culturally sensitive multi-disciplinary assessment is used to
develop and deliver a comprehensive care plan involving the users
and carers. The assessment focuses on identifying the service
user's strengths, goals and aspirations. Carers and family members
are involved in all assessments to help identify how they can
contribute to meeting the service users identified needs in line
with the CPA and MANCAS.
The team also identify clients' physical health needs and give
advice and support with nutritional and dental needs, helping them
to access local health services.
Care plans help users to make sense of their distress within
their life experience and help the development of coping strategies
to improve quality of life.
AOS also provides Housing and Welfare Rights Advice, which is an
essential part of the service for a number of reasons as AOS
service users present with a number of issues which can cause or be
compounded by low income, inadequate housing or homelessness and
debt. Offering good quality advice and representation on these
issues is also a key way of getting people to engage with the
service.
AOS provides care and support to people whose lifestyles are
chaotic and who do not easily work with mainstream community mental
health services.
The service provides a flexible and creative client-centred
approach to reaching those most disengaged from services and
ensures that care and support for individuals is maintained to a
high standard, working to re-engage service users with the
community.
Contact details
Address:
Central Team:
Nigel Spencer
Team Manager
Manchester Assertive Outreach Central Team
PO Box 201
Manchester
M21 8WR.
Tel: 0845 0068999
Fax 0845 0063999
South Team:
Pam Stother
Team Manager
Manchester Assertive Outreach South Team
PO Box 201
Manchester
M21 8WR.
Tel: 0845 0068999
Fax 0845 0063999
North Team:
Glyn Hulme
Team Manager
Manchester Assertive Outreach North Team
PO Box 29
Manchester
M40 8WH.
Tel: 0161 205 5995
Fax 0161 277 9088
Opening hours:
The service operates 7 days per week, 365 days a year including
bank holidays.
The hours of service are 8am to 5pm.