Surviving the NHS: United Kingdom Council of Therapy

Mental Health Nursing,  Jul 2005  by Pollock, Laurence

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London, June 6

Are we holding on to a dream of how the NHS used to be? That was the question Christine Lister Ford asked at the 'Surviving the NHS' conference hosted by the UK Council of Psychotherapists (UKCP) last month.

It began with the romantic hope that it was the solution to many problems. But now:

'There is a sense of despair and frustration - it is hard to feel that anything worthwhile is happening,' she commented.

Though hosted by the UKCP the conference was looking at mental health care from a variety of standpoints. Chris Williams of the Glasgow Institute of Psychosocial Interventions spoke on treating depression in the community with innovative access to CBT interventions.

Colin Adkins of Amicus raised important issues about the delivery of Agenda for Change. Ian Hulatt, Royal College of Nursing mental health lead addressed the contemporary challenges in mental health nursing.

The point has been made many times that mental health nurses are the largest single specialist group in the NHS but they seem to lack identity.

'Who defines a mental health nurse, do we have a vision?' Mr Hulatt asked. He listed the new opportunities: nurse prescribing, approved mental health professionals, 140 nurse consultants, more nurse led services and advanced practice regulated at a higher level.

Mental health professionals also had many new challenges the national service framework, race, in-patient care, physical health-environment and choice.

The mental health professional also had to take on board new workers who were emerging associate practitioners, graduate mental health workers, experts by experience and a reconfigured psychiatrist's role.

Laurence Pollock

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Jul 2005
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