Mental Health Care Planning

According to Grundy et al (2016), care planning is not only about clinical decisions, it is a shared responsibility between the person and the professionals. The professionals involved have a responsibility to make sure they are engaging fully with the person throughout the care planning process and to make sure they are meeting the required needs of each person, which will undoubtedly be different every time. Care plans should be meaningful and personalised to the service user and should include their goals, aspirations, and health needs. Mental health nurses have a duty to offer people evidence-based options and to make sure they fully understand these (Anthony and Crawford, 2000). Care plans are put in place to support person and help the

Assessments should include; a mental state examination which refers to things such as a person’s mood, sleep, any symptoms of anxiety, and a person's concentration and attention span. The diagnostic formulation includes, but is not limited to biopsychosocial issues such as family history, drug non-compliance and recent stressful life events which may have an impact on a person’s condition. The physical examination is important in all assessments to rule out any co-morbidities which may have a contributing factor to a person's condition. Investigations such as bloods and scans should also be considered when assessing someone (Semple and Smyth 2013). An assessment should include all aspects of a person's life, it is important to not only include a person's 'problems' in an assessment but also their strengths, focusing purely on the problems can be a disheartening

Tom already has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which can be seen as being a strength, According to Craddock and Mynors-Wallis, (2014) having a diagnosis provides the person with re-assurance, allows for specialist help and is a vital element in assisting people to make informed decisions about their care. Having a diagnosis also opens windows for receiving appropriate entitlements which may be required, in Tom’s case this is important as Tom is currently unemployed, which may well be due to his diagnosis (Rethink Mental Illness). Another strength of Tom’s is that he lives with his parents who clearly have an interest in Tom’s well-being, Tom’s father was able to report that Tom has been unpredictable over the last few weeks and has stopped taking his prescribed antipsychotic medication. Drug non-compliance and the belief that Tom believes he is “fine without them” is a problem. According to a study which included 105 participants, the study looked at people with schizophrenia and their attitudes towards medication, including their reasons for non-compliance, the study showed that 41.9% of people taking prescribed medication for schizophrenia were non-compliant with their medication, reasons for this included; denial of illness, distressed by side effects, and financial obstacles. Already, things are starting to link together (Chandra et al., 2014). “God told me to