The past decade has seen a focus on reducing psychiatric hospital admissions of people with intellectual disability yet targets for reducing the number of people in hospital have not been met. With the NHS ‘10 Year Plan’ further advocating a shift from hospital to community care, the imperative to deliver effective community services for people with intellectual disability remains as strong as ever.
This session will explore evidence-based strategies to improve the quality and responsiveness of community care for people with intellectual disability, reduce avoidable hospital admissions, and promote better health and social outcomes.
Drawing on diverse research methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and participatory approaches, we will highlight findings with practical implications.
• Professor Angela Hassiotis will present findings from a national study of Intensive Support Teams for people with intellectual disability and how their implementation can improve outcomes for those with the highest level of support needs or behaviours that challenge and reduce reliance on inpatient care.
• Dr Rory Sheehan will examine the role of Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (C(E)TRs), a flagship NHS initiative designed to galvanise community support and prevent unnecessary admissions. Although widely implemented, there has been no formal evaluation of C(E)TRs and this presentation will share new insights from research using real-world clinical data, including highlighting potential inequities in their use.
• Dr Deborah Chinn and Mr Shalim Ali (expert-by-experience and co-researcher) will discuss the concept of ‘feeling at home’ amongst people with intellectual disability living in supported accommodation, using findings from a photovoice project. The presentation will introduce a co-developed toolkit that can be used to improve the quality of supported living placements.
Together, the speakers will provide a multi-dimensional overview of how evidence-based services can improve community support, reduce hospitalisation, and promote the wellbeing of people with intellectual disability.
Learning objectives
By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
• explain the importance of providing high-quality community care for people with intellectual disability and its role in reducing avoidable hospital admissions and supporting community integration
• identify and compare a range of research methods that have been applied to generate evidence in this area
• describe key components of effective community services and how they can be implemented to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability
• reflect on the lived experience of people with intellectual disability and their essential role in shaping high-quality community care.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Afia Ali, Queen Mary University of London, London
Professor Angela Hassiotis, University College London, London
Dr Rory Sheehan, King's College London, London
Dr Deborah Chinn, King's College London, London
Funding
RCPsych International Congress is financially supported by the purchase of exhibition stand packages. A full list of confirmed exhibitors can be found here: Exhibiting Organisations at International Congress 2026
Availability
This webinar is part of the Congress webinar 2026 package. If you attended all four days of Congress, you will have access to these as part of your Congress package. Otherwise the Congress webinar 2026 package can be purchased below.
