Mental health liaison nursing, taking a capacity building approach

This paper explores the use of capacity building practice as an approach for the mental health liaison nurse (MHLN).

The role of the MHLN has established itself within nursing, with various approaches to the role documented in the nursing literature. Most descriptions of the role are limited by simply explaining what the MHLN does, rather than explaining the underlying approach and evaluation of the model suggested. Capacity building practice is explored in the context of the liaison role, and its use is demonstrated in a clinical example of suicide risk in a general hospital setting.

The future scope of MHLN and their use of capacity building approaches may lead to the improvement of consumer health outcomes and also develop the skill of the non-mental health nurse in generalist settings.