An important change that needs to happen within mental health services is for service users to be involved in all aspects of their care. This is called a working partnership where information is shared, choices are given and decisions are made together. The Department of Health (1999) states that service users should be involved in the planning and delivery of the care they receive. Drawing from course materials and external research this essay will discuss why developing this working relationship is important. It will look at past and current service provision, discuss what happens in practice, consider what change needs to take place for a working partnership to be achieved and how this relationship can benefit both service user and practitioner. The essay will also discuss whether there might be resistance to the idea of this working partnership and how these barriers might be addressed so that this change can be implemented in practice. To establish why a working partnership between the service user and practitioner is needed it is important to note that there have been many changes in mental health services since the 18th century when service users were labelled ‘lunatics’, shackled and treatment included beatings and being put on public display (The Open University, 2010g, p.94). This no longer happens but current legislation still focuses on controlling risk instead of considering a holistic approach where the whole person is considered. This can result in the service user not being included in decisions about their care, not given treatment options and sometimes being detained without consent (The Open University, 2010h, p.111). May (in the Open University, 2004b) is a practitioner and ex-service user, he states that me... ... middle of paper ... ...igning practitioner training programmes that include direct service user input. Current practices within services were discussed and highlighted a power imbalance between the service user and practitioner where the practitioner often holds all of the power and the views of the service user are often not considered. Possible resistance to a working partnership was discussed followed by suggestions to address these barriers to change. This highlighted that there are already policies in place that encourage a working partnership but Tait and Lester (2005) suggest there is no real evidence that these policies are being used regularly in practice. This essay has shown that a working partnership where the service user is involved in every aspect of their care is possible but policies and strategies need to be implemented and attitudes need to change for it to be achieved.
Thornicroft, G., & Tansella, M. (2005). Growing recognition of the importance of service user involvement in mental health service planning and evaluation. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 14(01), 1-3.
This essay will show how Goffmans theory concerning total institutions is supported and why this can cause difficulties to service users. It will also show why it important for care workers to help service users to have a voice and be heard to enable them to express their thoughts, feelings, ambitions and requests. This can by clearly illustrated by the case studies of Margret Scally a resident of Lennox Castle, an interview with Colin Sporul and Allen Williamson two nurses at Lennox Castle and final Lesley Learmonth. The essay will also show how care workers can facilitate in the process to ensure service users are confident in speaking out when they need to in the future.
To enable individuals to have a choice and control over the services they receive they must be placed at the centre of the decision making process, the current changes within the health and social care sector reinforce the idea that it is the individual in need of these services that knows best what their needs are and how they can be met effectively. Within my workplace we support and encourage service users to partake in their own care planning process to ensure the care they receive is personalised/ tailored to them as an individual, it contains personal likes/ dislikes/ preferences and choices regarding every aspect of their life.
Discharge planning for these patients into the community does not consider living in shelters and assisted living facilities. The revolving door situation creates negative outcomes for patients and organizations. These organizational alternative housing services do not provide medication supervision, therefore adherence to medication regimen and treatment is not provided to them. Consequently, they return to hospitals seeking follow-up treatment. Unfortunately exacerbation of mental illness symptoms is inevitable reflected from premature discharge and inadequate follow-up care. It is imperative that all patients receive proper treatment and discharge plan. Providing discharge instructions to patients for transitioning to independent living and self-care is not sufficient. Proactive health interventions and planning organizational strategies are needed to improve health outcomes for patients who are living in health care institutions (National Health Care for the Homeless council,
The Mental Health Nurse (MHN) role has changed over the last thirty years with scientific experiences suggesting that modern MHNs have further autonomy (Whittington & McLaughlin, 2000). Models of nursing have been offered throughout the history as pathways to empowering practice between the MHNs and service users. The Tidal Model
This principle allows individuals to build on their potential and lead responsible lives. Under “Partnership and communication”, recovery-oriented mental health practice values the significance of sharing information related to the mental situation of individuals. The principle also values the significance of clear communication lines (Rapp & Goscha, 2012). It also acknowledges the capability of each and that partnership between caregivers and individuals should be paramount
We have also taken examples from my own observations and demonstrated that the inequalities observed are representative of the national picture regarding mental health care and treatment. In conclusion, to provide the best possible holistic care and to help eradicate the existing inequalities, health care professionals need to explore ways in which they can address individual factors such as cultural norms and poverty to find ways to reduce their negative impact. By focusing on individualised patient centred care, health care professionals can work within communities to change attitudes and empower patients to seek the help they need and ensure it is available to them when they do need it. By doing this, they can help people remain healthy so that they may fully enjoy their life without the constant threat of ill
I am motivated to make a meaningful contribution to my society by alleviating the stress and hardships of those who suffer from a mental illness. I passionately intend to help these individuals reach domains of significance by providing them the skills designed to increase their quality of life. I am dedicated to socializing my community members to foster inclusion and equitable treatment for all. I have the desire to change the social norm and implement perpetual social change to make certain this world is a better place for humanity. I am compelled to the life-long journey of a professional social worker, which fosters responsive multicultural forms of advocacy for families and individuals that lack autonomy, familial support systems, and the lack of vital resources that are elemental in increasing their quality of life and to function within society.
During the Mental Illness Reform of the 1600s to 1877, people who had mental illness encountered various challenges that negatively affected their lives, which were caused by the shame of the ‘disease’. Those who were born with the now-know dyslexia, autism, and many more, were considered monsters and were hidden away from society. From the acts of neglect that were brought by the religious aspect of the church that caused lack of mental and social support by family and town members, those who were 'different' were destined to live the life of cruelty and abuse by being locked up and facing the barbaric and inhumane hospital treatments.
Mental health service managers or quality improvement officers should keep themselves well informed about developments in quality assurance, quality improvement and quality management. Knowledge from the quality improvement procedure in service delivery and management should be assimilated into the succeeding revision of policy, standards and qualification processes. By improving the quality of care, other countries should be able to increase the probability that the consequences of care will imitate the requirements and ambitions of the inhabitants served. The definitive goals of quality improvement are to reverence the rights of people with mental disorders, to guarantee that they are provided with the best obtainable evidence-based care, to upsurge self-assurance and to improve the quality of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; World Health Organization, 2003).
The MH bill 2013 has been passed by parliament in 2014 and will replace the 1996 Act. However, despite many improvements that are made to the act there are still deficiencies that arise. One of the major issues of the act is that it widens the scope for people to be considered involuntary patients. The UN principle 16 states that a person is to only be considered an involuntary patient if a qualified mental health practitioner authorises that the person is likely to cause harm to themself or others, or failure to admit the individual will result in a serious deterioration in his or her condition. Over the past 30 years, involuntary treatment has been one of the most consistently debated issues in mental health law. There have been substantial concerns that by widening the scope of people to be considered involuntary patients, it could cause a serious risk to the reputation of the person or cause irreparable damage to significant personal
Mental illness affects people of diverse age ranges, genders, and ethnicities. How widespread is mental illness in America? Looking at the National institution mental health data chart females in comparison to men have a higher rate of mental illness. The highest age range where mental illness is most most prevalent is 17-25.
Mental disorders affect 42.5 million Americans; this equals out to be one in five people. While the effects and intensity of mental disorders vary from person to person, each one alters a person’s mood or behavior in some way. Most mental disorders are treatable through therapy or the use of prescription medications. The causes of these disorders differ as well, but most are a mixture of environmental causes, heredity and biological factors such as chemical imbalances in the brain. Some of the most common disorders people suffer from are Major Depressive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Insomnia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Schizophrenia.
A Vision for Change gives a Model for Service User Involvement in mental health services. This pyramid-style framework shows that users and carers should participate at all levels of the system. It is important that they are active partners in their own recovery and the model demonstrates this by the progression of levels. Firstly, Individual level - user and carer involved in their own care planning process, community level - advocacy services available for users and carers to provide education and training. This level, I feel, is particularly important, as while...
In today’s day and age, the mental illness within the Australian population has drawn a considerable concern among the whole society. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics(2013), Australian mental health issue has become much more prevalent than ever before. It shows that mental disorder were expected to affect more than 1% of the population. Meanwhile, Australia’s mental health system does not meet the demand(ABC News, 2014). Under this situation, fund-raising for mental health which is in accordance with the social actuality, has become an important trend.