Community mental handicap nursing services in Northern Ireland: a profile of clients and selected working practices.

The aim of this survey of community mental handicap nursing in Northern Ireland (NI) was, among other things, to construct a profile of clients of the service as well as to describe selected working practices. A 25-item questionnaire was developed and administered to all 50 community nurses working with people with learning disabilities in NI. The number of responses was 36, giving a rate of 72%. Fifty-six percent of the clients were female. Young to middle-aged adults made up the largest portion of the caseload. Over 80% of the clients had no history of hospital admission. Caseload size also differed according to the years of service, gender and grade of the nurses. The main reason for visiting clients as reported by respondents was to give physical care.