The forensic mental health nurse - a literature review

Forensic mental health nursing has developed in the UK since the commissioning of Broadmoor Hospital in 1863. Little has been documented about the role until the early 1990s. There is debate over the usefulness of defining the role. It is suggested here that in order to meet the multifaceted, complex needs of the mentally disordered offender (MDO) patient group, the role of forensic mental health nurses (FMHNs) needs to be further developed, and this process is assisted by understanding its current status. This literature review examines the FMHN role in England and Wales. The literature pertinent to issues of task-orientated competence, knowledge and skills required, and desirable personal qualities that the role demands are examined. The latter of these attributes concerned with attitudes, values and morals is likely to be the most difficult to assess. Being able to isolate the composite elements of the role of FMHNs will enable the development of a competency framework, which will ensure quality assurance in contemporary health care for the thousands of FMHNs in practice and many more thousands of MDOs and other patients that the nurse has the potential to affect.