Mental health nurses face review

Mental health care is becoming more patient-centred

A review of mental health nursing has been announced to help the profession keep pace with NHS reforms.

Chief Nursing Officer Chris Beasley said the review will look at issues to do with race equality, the Mental Health Bill and public health plans.

She said nurses needed to be given a clear direction as the NHS moves towards more patient-centred care.

A new framework for England's 45,000 nurses, the first for 10 years, is due to be published by the end of the year.

Under the government's choice agenda, mental health services are expected to give patients options where possible about the sort of care they can receive.

Mental health nursing is an essential component in our plans to continue to improve mental health services Professor Louis Appleby

This could involve a choice of whether to be treated by the NHS, voluntary sector or whether to receive psychological or psychiatric care.

Last autumn's Public Health White Paper also called on mental health services to tackle inequalities experienced by people from black and minority ethnic communities in accessing treatment.

The paper also set a 2005 deadline for Sure Start programmes to include mental health care in their schemes.

And the Mental Health Bill, currently working its way through parliament, includes measures to allow the enforced treatment of potentially dangerous mental health patients.

Changing times

Ms Beasley said the review would work closely with mental health staff and patients.

"The context in which mental health nurses work has changed in recent years as a result of government reforms, lessons from serious incidents and the new professional roles that have grown across the health and social care system."

Professor Louis Appleby, national director of mental health, said the review would help to define the role of nurses in a new era for mental health care.

"Mental health nursing is an essential component in our plans to continue to improve mental health services."

And Ian Hulatt, mental health adviser for the Royal College of Nursing, said the college was looking forward to engaging in the review.

"I also hope it will change people's perceptions of mental health nursing. A lot of what is assumed at the moment is not correct."

But he warned the current numbers of nurses were inadequate to deal with the reforms.

Andy Bell, of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, also said the review would need to addressing staffing.

"Mental health nurses are already overstretched and they are taking on more responsibility under the reforms."