‘Delivering Excellence, Supporting Recovery’ – Mental Health Nursing Conference

‘Mental health is a key priority for us all’ - that’s what delegates at a mental health nursing conference held yesterday, [Tuesday 12 March], at Mossley Mill heard about the importance of working together to improve mental  health  nursing services in Northern Ireland.

 Within Northern Ireland approximately 250,000 adults and 45,000 children and young people have a mental health need at any one time - that’s around one in six of the population.

 The conference ‘Delivering Excellence, Supporting Recovery’, hosted by the Public Health Agency (PHA), brought together a range of health care professionals, educators and researchers who work in the public and private sector across Northern Ireland to showcase, share and celebrate new initiatives, developments and research within the mental health nursing framework.

Molly Kane, Regional Lead Consultant in Mental Health and Learning Disability at the PHA said: “Considering the wide range of mental health services provided in Northern Ireland we can be proud of what we have already achieved but we cannot afford to be complacent. More needs to be done to achieve our progressive vision for mental health.

“Confident, competent and innovative mental health nurses are the largest professional group within mental health services in Northern Ireland and are a core ingredient for success. They are highly valued by service users and carers, and have a vital role to play in the on-going reform and modernisation of mental health services.”

The aim of the conference was to share learning concepts in the following areas:

• Recovery approaches in mental health;
• Partnership working with service users and carers;
• Mental health nurse prescribing;
• Mental health nursing in emergency departments and prison settings.

The conference showcased the recovery approach being taken forward in mental health care across the region and the importance of working with service users and carers, most importantly to listen to their experiences to improve how we deliver care.

Molly continued “It provided delegates at the conference an opportunity to consider new initiatives and recap on lessons learnt from mental health nurses working in emergency departments and prison settings. It allowed time for reflection on the past and for discussions regarding the way forward for nurse prescribing in mental health. Dr Eddie Rooney (CEO, PHA) presented awards to 3 initiatives aimed at improving the patient experience/safety in mental health settings.

“The experiences shared will allow mental health nurses to continue to deliver safe, effective, innovative and evidence-informed care across the full spectrum of service provision, and to provide a framework that will enable the achievement of a world-class mental health nursing service for patients and carers.”