Embracing change is essential

Mental Health Nursing,  Jul 2004  

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Sharon Duncan, Chair of the MHNA 'Nothing is permanent except change' said Sharon Duncan, chair of the MHNA, as she welcomed delegates to conference. Embracing change and the necessary partnership working within it are essential to moving mental health nursing forward.

Partnership working is nothing new for mental health nurses, indeed it was being carried out before it became 'fashionable' in other areas of nursing. Mental health nurses know that developing good relationships with people - clients and stakeholders - is essential for effective working, she said.

Communication is vital to a good partnership and communication skills have often been seen as a mental health nurse's raison d'etre. A collaborative response is also vital to both build partnerships in the first place and rebuild them when things go wrong.

Ms Duncan used the example of the Braer tanker disaster in the Shetland Isles, in the 1990s, to demonstrate how partnerships (in this case between an oil company and the islanders when a tanker polluted the seas around the island with oil) can easily go wrong and to illustrate the hard work that is needed to rebuild trust and effective communication.

Communication pathways must be built up with collaborative responses, utilising two-way feedback with the government and stakeholders and facilitating change.

There is lots of pressure on mental health nurses and it can often seem impossible to work out which way the profession is heading. Change is inevitable/ said Ms Duncan and mental health nurses must embrace 'the brave new world.' Agenda for Change is round the corner and new mental health legislation will impact on everyday working practice.

There is lots of pressure on mental health nurses and it can often seem impossible to work out which way the profession is heading. Change is inevitable.'

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Jul 2004
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