The work of a community psychiatric nursing service for acute psychiatric conditions was reviewed for the period 1980-82. Five community psychiatric nurses operated in 10 health centres. General practitioners were the most frequent users of the service and a wide range of psychiatric problems were encountered. The age structure of all referrals was found to be significantly related to sex, with the proportion of females in all age groups at least twice that for males. The most frequent reason for referral was mood/affect disturbance; female patients referred for the first time were predominant. Over half of all problems resolved within three months of referral and a limited number of patients were sent for further psychiatric investigation.