Last updated: 13 July 2026

Who is this page for?

This page is for service managers and leaders looking to set up multi-disciplinary team meetings as well as for frontline workers who may wish to call a meeting on behalf of someone they are working with.


What are Multi-disciplinary team meetings (MDTs)?

Multi-disciplinary Team meetings (MDTs) are operational meetings that involve multiple partners from different sectors or agencies coming together to support specific individuals. They often involve joint assessment of needs, decision making and agreed actions. They create space for individual people or situations to be discussed and for practitioners to give updates and identify and address barriers.

MDTs can be either issue-specific - looking at a specified group of people or particular challenges or they can be person-focussed – called to discuss a specific individual.

Who can call an MDT?

Person-focussed MDTs may be called by any individual agency or workers who is supporting someone that may benefit from this approach. This may be the worker who has the most trusted relationship with the individual or it could be an agency that is finding significant blockers to making progress. They key is that all relevant agencies are in attendance.

Where the local area has a regular issue-focused meeting or has adopted a specific approach such as Team Around Me, agencies should approach those involved to add someone to the agenda or to ask how best to convene the meeting. This will ensure consistency of approach and will also benefit from the existing commitment of other professionals to the process.

Who can attend a MDT?

Any relevant agency or individual may be invited to attend a multi-agency meeting but they typically involve:

  • Homelessness professionals including from the Local Authority, Outreach teams and any connected homelessness sector providers
  • Health specialists such as GPs or specialist nurses
  • Mental Health specialists including from statutory mental health teams as well as any teams working with specific groups.
  • Substance Misuse professionals
  • Domestic abuse or support agencies
  • Probation and other criminal justice workers
  • Police or Community Safety Teams
  • Adult social care
  • Legal advisors

It can be beneficial for attendees to be able to make decisions about flexibility and to adapt service provision. In many cases this may mean inviting attendees with a level of seniority but this may depend on the service.

On occasion there may be others attending who aren’t in a professional capacity. This may include:

  • Family members
  • Friends and other social networks
  • Volunteers or staff from other organisations with whom the person has a relationship.

Significantly MDTs may also include the person themselves.

How should I lead and chair a MDT?

Having the right leadership is important for ensuring that the full range of agencies engage with the meeting and give it priority. A successful MDT also needs to be able to work creatively and occasionally flex provision. This requires engagement from Senior Leaders from each attending agency. The leadership of the meeting will need to be able to create this engagement when it is being established.

The exact nature of the leadership will depend on the needs of the specific area. Ideally this is agreed in the Terms of Reference for the meeting. In areas that are part of MEAM or Changing Futures this is often led by the related team. In other areas it may come from the Local Authority or whichever agency takes the lead in supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage. In areas where there is no clear lead agency, it will be necessary to build relationships with key partners in order to ensure appropriate engagement.

Many of the areas that have developed innovative models of MDT meetings are part of Making Every Adult Matter or Changing Futures programmes.

Key features of effective multi-disciplinary meetings

  1. Values: Effective MDTs generally have a clear set of values that sets the context for the meeting and determines the approach. Attendees agree to work to these values. This may involve values such as trust and transparency as well as working in a way that embeds trauma-informed and strengths-based working and that encourages participation.
  2. Shared principles: this might include concepts such as using specific language and positive risk taking. Meetings can work particularly well when attendees are empowered to work flexibly
  3. Clarity of purpose: The meeting should agree at the outset what the overall purpose is. It is always valuable to lay this out clearly in the Terms of Reference in order to ensure that all parties can be fully committed.
  4. Accountability: it’s important to have a shared commitment to attending, working together and to finding and actioning solutions. This involves having clear lines of accountability so that everyone understands what is expected of them and how and when to carry out agreed actions.
  5. Shared power: Agencies build positive working relationships between them that involve trust and share power including with the individual themselves as well as those attending in a non-professional capacity.
  6. Consistent approach: it is important to have a clear, well-structured and consistent approach. Attendees agree on how the meetings will be structured and managed and stick to this approach. This includes how to deal with disagreements and conflict if they arise.
  7. Involvement: Wherever possible the person under-discussion should attend the meeting but if not, they should have awareness of what is happening and input into what is shared. Their own goals should be central to how the meeting proceeds.

Benefits of MDTs

Some areas that have implemented MDTs of different types have undertaken reflection or evaluation. These have been collated and summarised here.

  • Better outcomes for individuals – better outcomes can be achieved by coming together to focus on specific people through developing a shared understanding, sharing information, discussing options, identifying blockages and developing creative thinking and flexibility.
  • Development of focussed plans for individuals with clear lines of accountability. When meetings work well they can produce clearer and more effective plans for moving forward. This can relieve pressure on agencies as well as delivering improved support to individuals.
  • Improved partnership working between agencies – more efficient use of resources and a shared sense of purpose. This can reduce duplication as well as ensuring more effective working. It also ensures that information is shared effectively. This has a benefit beyond that to the individual or group and can improve the overall working of the system.
  • Creating a coordinated approach between agencies – taking part in an MDT can encourage agencies to develop a shared approach or ethos. This can create better consistency across services and avoid people struggling to engage with different styles of interaction from providers.
  • Staff feel better supported and more positive – taking part in MDTs can ensure that staff feel supported in the work that they are doing and more hopeful about being able to make positive changes for people they work with.
  • Involving people in their own support can help to re-build control. Giving people a central role in their own support can help to avoid some of the re-traumatisation they can experience from previous negative interactions with professionals in the past. It can also improve confidence and give the person an increased sense of control over their life which is an important part of moving beyond trauma.
  • Create opportunities for further learning and systems improvements – meetings create space to enable reflection and learning both on individual cases and on the broader system. Better coordination helps to highlight where there are genuine gaps in service provision which can lead to improved commissioning. It can also enable agencies to take collective action on system blockers and make general improvements to the system.

Common challenges and responses

  • Gaining buy-in from relevant partners: it can be challenging getting engagement from all relevant parties in a context where most are overstretched and may already have ‘meeting fatigue’. This may be easier to achieve in areas that have already committed to partnership working by becoming part of the MEAM network or having Changing Futures funding. In other areas it can take time to make the case for participation. Several Changing Futures areas have published reports on the impact of collaborative working that can be used to make the case. MEAM have also published a 5 year evaluation that includes relevant data.
  • Shared values and purpose: a lack of shared values can play a key role in preventing agencies pulling in different directions or undermining a more positive approach. One way to ensure that MDT meetings have shared values, commitment and a consistent approach is to develop an agreement or charter. This is a document that lays out the framework for delivering multi-disciplinary support and includes vision, principles and processes for shared working as well as clarifying purpose and lines of accountability. This can be signed by those participating to ensure clarity of purpose.
  • Information sharing: Some agencies, in particular statutory agencies, have strict protocols about information sharing that can make MDTs challenging. If some agencies are unwilling to share information, they should be included in the meeting anyway in order to stay informed. Ideally the group can develop a set of shared principles around this and sign up to a Data Sharing Agreement that will enable the meeting to talk freely. Read more about Data Sharing in Multi-Agency Meetings in the page on Effective Partnerships linked at the bottom of the page.
  • Agreed workstreams and accountability : a lack of agreement can lead to agencies passing the buck onto one another or a blame culture. This can be avoided by setting up clear terms of reference at the outset and ensuring all sign up to these.
  • Attendance: it can be difficult for some agencies to ensure consistent attendance by the same person. The advantage of having different attendees is that the success of the meeting doesn’t rest on the relationship with one person who may move on to a different role. The challenge is that it can be harder to establish trust and a shared culture with frequently changing membership. This can be alleviated by...ensuring that the values and terms of the meeting are sent out alongside any other notes and by reiterating shared values and purpose at the start of each meeting.
  • Focus: weak chairing can lead to a lack of focus which allows certain voices to be head more loudly and can prevent the development of clear actions. This can be avoided by having a clear structure and following it where possible.
  • Attendance by the person under discussion: Although several models aim to include the person themselves, most report relatively low attendance. This may be for a number of reasons including mistrust of services and negative past experiences. This can be minimised by ensuring that the nature and purpose of the meeting is clearly understood and by providing support around attending. If the person does not want to attend, then it is important to ensure that one key worker talks to them in advance and represents their views as clearly as possible.

Person-focused MDTs

Person-focused MDTs bring together a range of people and agencies to discuss a particular person.

Team Around Me

Team Around Me (TAM) is a straightforward, consistent, strengths-based, trauma-informed, and co-produced approach for holding multi-agency meetings which helps create a sense of unity and support among professionals and puts the client at the centre of their own support.

Find out more

Network Meetings

Changing Futures Northumbria (CFN) was a 5 year programme aiming to improve outcomes for adults experiencing multiple disadvantages. One of the guiding principles was building communities of support through Network Meetings which provided a forum to coordinate support between the person themselves, support providers, community groups, family and friends.

Find out more

Multi-disciplinary Case Conference

Groundswell has been working as part of the Westminster Homeless Health Partnership (WHHCP) to deliver support to people experiencing homelessness and health challenges in the borough. As part of that project they developed a series of resources that support both professionals and people experiencing homelessness to have a better understanding of the role of Case Conferencing.

Find out more

Issue-specific MDTs

Issue-specific MDTs focus on a topic or group of people who may be facing similar issues. These are typically standing meetings that take place regularly. They will usually discuss several different people in one meeting as well as ways in which services could work better together to deliver better outcomes or support.

The focus is on individuals for whom there is no current solution to their housing and support needs. The difference between this and a standard multi-agency meeting is the inclusion of a psychologist. The meeting is strengths based and client led, with the Psychologist offering a psychological, adversity and trauma informed (PAT) lens.

Issue-specific MDTs

Creative Solutions Forum

Somerset operates a bi-monthly online (once a month in the east, When a new client is referred into the meeting, they are invited in (with support) to tell us what it is they feel would help them overcome their challenges, what has worked before and what their strengths are.

Find out more

Further resources and guidance

Upcoming practice forum

Join our upcoming practice forum on running effective multi-disciplinary team meetings. Hear about two different models and take part in group discussion with other attendees.