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BackgroundPsychiatric conditions contribute to 13% of the global burden of diseases and account for one third of years lost because of disability (YLD). Despite the high prevalence of mental health problems, primary health care (PHC) services remain ineffective in managing patients with mental health conditions.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to determine the practices of PHC nurses in the management of psychiatric patients in primary health care clinics in one of the rural districts in South Africa.MethodA survey was conducted amongst nurses working in several PHC clinics in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in order to determine their practices in the management of psychiatric patients. Mixed methods were used to determine the PHC nurses practices in the management of psychiatric patients.ResultsThe findings revealed that in five sites (83.3%) treatments are not reviewed every six months, there were no local protocols on the administration of psychiatric emergency drugs, and none of the study sites provided psychiatric patients with education on their medication and its possible side effects.ConclusionBased on the results of this study it is evident that psychiatric patients at PHC clinics in the district where the study was conducted do not receive quality treatment according to institutional mental health guidelines.

Background: Nurses are the main providers of care at primary health care (PHC) clinics; the high incidence of mental health problems at these clinics means that PHC nurses are important providers of mental health care. The PHC nurses’ knowledge regarding provision and identification of mental health problems has been shown to be poor. Aim: The study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs concerning the care of psychiatric patients at PHC level amongst nurses.Setting: The study was conducted in uThungulu Health District in the Northern Area of KwaZulu-Natal Province. Six clinics were purposively selected based on their geographical location.Methods: The study used a quantitative survey using a structured questionnaire. Simple descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data.Results: The study revealed that 39% of the nurses were between the ages of 41 and 50 years and 92% were females. The association between past experience in working with psychiatric patients and positive attitude of nurses was found to be significant.Conclusion: This study found that PHC nurses’ attitudes and beliefs towards people with mental illness were positive. PHC nurses were found to have inadequate knowledge to manage psychiatric patients.

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