Voluntary care for the elderly mentally infirm and their relatives: a British example

A volunteer project for elderly people with mental health problems

A volunteer project for elderly people with severe mental health problems and social isolation was developed with close links with a community mental health team. The functioning of this service is described from 1988–1995. The volunteers benefited from training and supervision from the professional community team, while the volunteers took over the role of monitoring, allowing the earlier discharge of these patients by the community team.