What prevents one to one care?

In 2007, West London Mental Health Trust was visited by the Healthcare Commission (now the Care Quality Commission), which identified several issues needing attention. One major concern was the lack of effective interaction between nurses and service users in acute care.

To determine why mental health nurses on acute admissions wards struggle to spend one to one time with service users, and how to address the problem.

Interviews with four senior nurses were conducted to identify initial concerns and problems. This data formed a basis for semi-structured interviews with all 11 acute admissions ward managers at the trust.

Five common themes were identified as the major barriers to one to one care: administrative duties; understanding one to one sessions; control over workload; staff needs; and ward culture.

Staff training and education have been improved, and policies implemented. As the study is small, replicating it nationally would give a better overall picture of this issue in mental health services.