ABSTRACT
Aim
This paper presents a preliminary investigation of dedicated and specialist personality disorder services in three counties within the East Midlands in England (Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire). We examined (1) the levels of dedicated National Health Service, independent and voluntary service provisions for people with personality disorder in these counties and (2) the psychological and psychosocial treatments on offer.
Method
Searches were conducted to identify dedicated and specialist personality disorder services, and senior clinicians within each service were asked to complete a survey about their facility.
Results
Our findings suggest that dedicated and specialist service capacity within this region is inadequate to meet the needs of both offenders and non-offenders with personality disorder. In addition to this, we found that there is significant disparity in the therapeutic interventions on offer across this region.
Conclusion
It is likely that similar observations apply throughout England. This suggests that the configuration and accessibility of services for people with people disorder requires a major review if these services are to meet their intended objectives. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.