Patient access to care- a need for mental health leadership, and a role for industry

Szabo, CP

doi:10.4314/ajpsy.v16i5.39

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The program has been impactful and widely acknowledged, both locally and internationally following presentations in various forums, most recently at the World Psychiatric Association International Conference 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa and the 2016 World Association for Social Psychiatry Congress in New Delhi, India. The need for a public mental health agenda within South African psychiatry has repeatedly been raised [ 23 , 24 ]. The inclusion of public mental health leadership training in the specialist training curriculum of the College of Psychiatrists, a direct outcome of the Mental Health Leadership Training Programme, goes some way to addressing this with a clear intention to broaden the pool of health care professionals who are better equipped to engage in patient advocacy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health leadership and patient access to care: a public–private initiative in South Africa

Szabo

Mayers

Naidoo

et al. 2017

Int J Ment Health Syst

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BackgroundMental health leadership is a critical component of patient access to care. More specifically, the ability of mental health professionals to articulate the needs of patients, formulate strategies and engage meaningfully at the appropriate level in pursuit of resources. This is not a skill set routinely taught to mental health professionals.MethodsA public–private mental health leadership initiative, emanating from a patient access to care programme, was developed with the aim of building leadership capacity within the South African public mental health sector. The express aim was to equip health care professionals with the requisite skills to more effectively advocate for their patients. The initiative involved participants from various sites within South Africa. Inclusion was based on the proposal of an ongoing “project”, i.e. a clinician-initiated service development with a multidisciplinary focus. The projects were varied in nature but all involved identification of and a plan for addressing an aspect of the participants’ daily professional work which negatively impacted on patient care due to unmet needs. Six such projects were included and involved 15 participants, comprising personnel from psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy and nursing. Each project group was formally mentored as part of the initiative, with mentors being senior professionals with expertise in psychiatry, public health and nursing. The programme design thus provided a unique practical dimension in which skills and learnings were applied to the projects with numerous and diverse outcomes.ResultsBenefits were noted by participants but extended beyond the individuals to the health institutions in which they worked and the patients that they served. Participants acquired both the skills and the confidence which enabled them to sustain the changes that they themselves had initiated in their institutions. The initiative gave impetus to the inclusion of public mental health as part of the curriculum for specialist training.ConclusionsDespite the significant adverse social and economic costs of mental illness, psychiatric and related services receive a low level of priority within the health care system. Ensuring that mental health receives the recognition and the resources it deserves requires that mental health care professionals become effective advocates through mental health leadership.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%