National and International learning from ‘Playing our Part’: An exercise in consultation and debate with the public and the profession on the work of graduate and registered mental health nurses in the UK

Abstract Wales is a small country, with an ageing population, high levels of population health need and an economy with a significant reliance on public services. Its health system attracts little attention, with analyses tending to underplay the differences between the four countries of the UK. This paper helps redress this via a case study of Welsh mental health policy, services and nursing practice. Distinctively, successive devolved governments in Wales have emphasised public planning and provision. Wales also has primary legislation addressing sustainability and future generations, safe nurse staffing and rights of access to mental health services. However, in a context in which gaps always exist between national policy, local services and face-to-face care, evidence points to the existence of tension between Welsh policy aspirations and realities. Mental health nurses in Wales have produced a framework for action, which describes practice exemplars and looks forward to a secure future for the profession. With policy, however enlightened, lacking the singular potency to bring about intended change, nurses as the largest of the professional groups involved in mental health care have opportunities to make a difference in Wales through leadership, influence and collective action.

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Mental health nursing in a rehabilitation and recovery context

Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199547746.003.0012 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Marjorie Lloyd

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Professional Staff ◽

Mental Health Crisis ◽

Psychiatric Facility ◽

Mental Health Nursing ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

Health Nursing ◽

The 1960S ◽

The Uk

In this chapter we return to the story of Anthony and his brother David, who we originally met in Chapter 4, and Joyce, who first appears in Chapter 5. Previously we considered the role of the mental health nurse in working with people experiencing acute mental health crisis. This chapter seeks to consider how as mental health nurses we might go on to work with these people to support their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. The chapter opens by outlining some key principles of recovery and proceeds to demonstrate how these ideas might be implemented in working with both Anthony and Joyce. “The way I was feeling my sadness was mine. When I was in hospital staff rarely took time to find out what this was like for me. Not taking the time often fuelled what I was thinking: ‘I’m not worth finding out about.’ Nigel Short (2007: 23)” This service user describes how it feels to live with mental illness continuously throughout their lives, not just while they are in hospital. Professional staff may contribute to this feeling if care planning becomes too focused upon symptoms and treatment rather than person-centred care and recovery. In this context, recovery should not be seen as a new concept; rather it can be traced back at least 200 years to one of the earliest asylums, the Tuke Retreat in Yorkshire. “For it was a critical appraisal of psychiatric practice that inspired the Tuke at York to establish a clinical philosophy and therapeutic practice based on kindness, compassion, respect and hope of recovery. Roberts and Wolfson (2004: 37).” Later, during the 1960s, The Vermont Project (an American psychiatric facility) also published research on successful rehabilitative practice that was based upon ‘faith, hope and love’ (Eldred et al. 1962: 45). However, much of the current focus upon recovery practices is based on longitudinal studies in America, services in Ohio, service users were asked to identify what was important to them. This resulted in the Emerging Best Practices document that is recommended guidance in the UK today (NIMHE 2004).

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Mental Health Nurses' Beliefs About Interventions for Schizophrenia and Depression: A Comparison with Psychiatrists and the Public

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00750.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 602-611 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Tanya M. Caldwell ◽

Anthony F. Jorm

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Belief Systems ◽

Postal Survey ◽

Mental Health Practitioners ◽

Work Setting ◽

Tertiary Sector ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

The Public ◽

Health Practitioners

Objective: The main objective of this paper was to investigate and compare mental health nurses' beliefs about interventions for schizophrenia and depression with those of psychiatrists and the public. Factors affecting nurses' beliefs were also investigated. Method: This research used methods employed in previous surveys of professional and public beliefs. A postal survey of 673 Australian mental health nurses was carried out. The survey was comprised of a vignette describing a person with either depression or schizophrenia. Participants rated whether particular medical, psychological and lifestyle interventions were helpful, harmful or neither. Factors examined included: nurses' age, sex, degree of contact with similar problems, work setting, level of highest qualification and whether their education was hospital-based or completed within the tertiary sector. Results: The nurses agreed with psychiatrists (but not the public) about the interventions most likely to be helpful, such as antidepressants for depression and antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia. However, there were many differences between nurses, psychiatrists and the public. Nurses were more likely than psychiatrists to believe that certain non-standard interventions such as vitamins, minerals and visiting a naturopath would be helpful. Nurses' beliefs tended to form a bridge between the attitudes of psychiatrists and the public for some of these non-standard interventions. Age, work setting and qualifications were related to nurses' intervention beliefs. Conclusions: Mental health practitioners need to be aware of a range of beliefs within mental health services. The acknowledgement of differing belief systems is important for high quality, integrated care.

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How psychiatrists can engage with the media

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment ◽

10.1192/apt.bp.110.008839 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 71-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claire Bithell

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

New Media ◽

News Media ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Daily News ◽

The Public ◽

The Media ◽

The Uk ◽

Time Frames

SummaryThe media offers opportunities for psychiatrists to communicate with a wide and varied audience, thereby influencing the views of the public and policy makers on mental health issues. There are many different types of media outlet, including daily news media, documentary makers, specialist media, features and comment, and new media. The Science Media Centre is an independent press office that aims to help ensure that the views of scientists, clinicians and researchers are heard in the UK national news media when their area of expertise hits the headlines. In the news media, journalists work to tight time frames and often focus on sensational and controversial topics, presenting challenges for those wanting to engage. For experts to work effectively with the news media it helps to understand more about the way the media works and how to develop necessary skills. Psychiatrists who do work successfully with the media can help ensure that the public receive accurate information about mental health problems, and gain an appreciation of the importance of research in the field and a better understanding of the role of the psychiatrist.

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Media coverage of mental health care in the UK, USA and Australia

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.27.9.331 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 27 (9) ◽

pp. 331-333 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Beatrice Huang ◽

Stefan Priebe

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Mental Illnesses ◽

The Public ◽

The Usa ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Media ◽

The Uk

Aims and MethodWe aimed to assess the contents and tone of articles on mental health care in the UK print media by comparing them with reporting in the USA and Australia. Two broadsheets from each country were analysed using the Internet for a random 4 months over a 1-year period. The number of articles, their content and the views expressed in them were identified and compared.ResultsA total of 118 articles on mental health care issues were found. The predominant tone of the articles in all three countries was negative, though there were slightly more positive articles in the USA and Australian media. Positive articles highlighted in the UK media covered mostly medical conferences and research findings.Clinical ImplicationsEfforts to achieve a more positive attitude towards people with mental illnesses in the public, such as anti-stigma campaigns, operate against a background of predominantly negative coverage of mental health care issues in broadsheets. The coverage in the UK may tend to be even less positive than in the USA and Australia. Medical conferences and research findings can, however, be used to promote positive views of mental health care in the media.

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Time-use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a panel analysis of 55,204 adults followed across 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK

10.1101/2020.08.18.20177345 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Feifei Bu ◽

Andrew Steptoe ◽

Hei Wan Mak ◽

Daisy Fancourt

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Time Use ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Panel Study ◽

Social Study ◽

Panel Analysis ◽

The Public ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

There is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID 19 outbreak on mental health. But it remains unclear how individual behaviors could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between specific activities (or time use) and mental health and wellbeing amongst people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Data were from the UCL COVID 19 Social Study; a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID 19 pandemic. The analytical sample consisted of 55,204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the strict 11 week lockdown period from 21st March to 31st May 2020. Data were analyzed using fixed effects and Arellano Bond models. We found that changes in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and wellbeing. After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviors involving outdoor activities including gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and wellbeing, while increased time spent on following news about COVID 19 predicted declines in mental health and wellbeing. These results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies, and may help the public to maintain wellbeing during future pandemics.

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5. Mental Health Law

Medical Law and Ethics ◽

10.1093/he/9780198846956.003.0005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 233-272

Author(s):

Jonathan Herring

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Medical Law ◽

Health Law ◽

Mental Health Practice ◽

Mental Health Law ◽

Mentally Disordered ◽

The Public ◽

Code Of Practice ◽

Law And Ethics ◽

The Uk

This chapter first considers statistics on mental health in the UK. It then discusses the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983; the MHA 1983 Code of Practice; reforms to the law under the 2007 Act; problems in mental health practice; critics of mental health; and paternalism as the ground for detention. It highlights the difficulty in striking the correct balance between protecting the public from the perceived threat of mentally disordered people and protecting the rights of those who suffer mental illness. The chapter also illustrates how the principle of autonomy, which plays such an important role in medical law and ethics, is given much less prominence in the area of mental health law.

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Prescribing by Mental Health Nurses: The UK Perspective

Perspectives In Psychiatric Care ◽

10.1111/j.1744-6163.2009.00197.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 24-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Steve Hemingway ◽

Valerie Ely

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Nurses ◽

The Uk

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Public mental health: An interdisciplinary subject?

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.114.157966 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 207 (3) ◽

pp. 192-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sarah L. Stewart-Brown

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Physical Health ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Public Health Perspective ◽

The Public ◽

Health Circles ◽

Important Landmark ◽

The Uk

SummaryThe Chief Medical Officer's report for 2013 was the first of its kind to highlight the public's mental rather than physical health and thus represents a very important landmark for public health in the UK. Written primarily from the perspective of psychiatrists, the report has created confusion in public health circles by failing to adequately address the public health perspective. David Foreman's editorial in this issue, calling as it does for more training in public health for psychiatrists, is therefore very welcome and timely.

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