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Mental health. Drawing the line
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, Manchester University.
The Health Service Journal
|January 6, 2000
Summary
Community psychiatric nurses effectively assess referred clients, improving resource allocation for mental health teams. This approach manages both routine and emergency cases, addressing initial concerns from general practitioners.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatric Nursing
- Community Mental Health Services
- Healthcare Resource Management
Background:
- Community psychiatric teams receive diverse client referrals.
- Effective resource targeting is crucial for mental health services.
- Traditional assessment roles were primarily held by psychiatrists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the role of community psychiatric nurses in client assessment.
- To determine the impact of nurse-led assessments on resource allocation.
- To address initial concerns regarding nurses performing psychiatric assessments.
Main Methods:
- Community psychiatric nurses were employed to conduct client assessments.
- Nurses managed both routine and emergency referrals.
- General practitioners' initial concerns were noted.
Main Results:
- Nurse-led assessments were implemented for referred clients.
- The assessment nurses handled a spectrum of referrals.
- Initial apprehension from general practitioners was observed.
Conclusions:
- Employing community psychiatric nurses for assessments can optimize resource distribution.
- The nurses successfully managed diverse referral types.
- The study addresses the integration of nurses into assessment roles previously held by psychiatrists.