The implementation of the Mental Health Nursing Specialty in Andalusia. A community approach

Health systems have a responsibility to respond to the new health needs of the population, which are characterized by factors such as aging, chronicity and/or dependency situations and which requires quality and specialized care adapted to different areas where care is provided, care offered by trained and increasingly qualified professionals to improve the health outcomes of the caregivers. In 2016, in Andalusia the regulatory framework by which is created the statutory professional category of nurse/specialists is published, including the specialty of Mental Health Nursing in the Andalusian Health Service. In the field of Mental Health, the development of this normative framework and the definition and occupation of positions, will allow the health system to combine the role of nurse specialist nurses with that of nurses who provide general care, registered nurses, in order to advance in the best response to the health needs of citizens in this area of care. The development of the specialty will be an added value both to improve the health outcomes of people with mental health problems, and to improve the quality of care, efficiency and sustainability of health systems.