How important is the assessment of social skills in current long-stay in-patients? An evaluation of clinical response to needs for assessment, treatment, and care in a long-stay psychiatric in-patient population

Service response to problems in 20 clinical and social competence areas was assessed in 156 long-stay in-patients, using the Needs for Care Assessment (NFC). Although there were few unmet needs for treatment, over 200 instances of unmet needs for the assessment of social skills were found, and reasons for this are discussed, as is the importance of social-skills assessment in this group. In around a third of the sample most of the social-skill areas in the NFC were not applicable.