The mental health detention process: a scoping review to inform GP training

Abstract

BackgroundGeneral Practitioners are often faced with deciding whether or not an unwell patient requires detention for assessment in hospital under mental health legislation. This can be a complex and daunting process. Despite this, General Practitioners and most other professionals involved receive limited formal training.AimTo map and review the current literature on training in mental health detention processes. These insights are vital to inform the further development of meaningful educational approaches.Design & SettingA systematic scoping literature review was conducted to identify what is known about how best to develop training in this area.MethodArskey and O’Malley’s framework was used to select, chart and analyse articles from across six electronic databases. 1,136 articles were included in the initial screening phase and 183 articles were included in the full-text screening phase. Key themes were derived using an iterative and thematic approach. A personal and public involvement group was set up for this project and other stakeholders in the mental health detention process were consulted about our findings.Results52 articles were included in the final review. Professionals consistently highlighted unmet training needs and difficulties with the process. There were identified needs for practical, interdisciplinary training including discussion of complex cases, and opportunities to learn from those with direct experience.ConclusionThis work is foundational for the development of meaningful educational approaches around mental health detention processes. A strong research base will inform and strengthen training with the ultimate aim of improving patient care.

A qualitative meta-synthesis of service users’ and carers’ experiences of assessment and involuntary hospital admissions under mental health legislations: a five-year update

“…Addressing staff shortages, and recruitment and retention of staff with suitable personal characteristics seems important, as it may ameliorate otherwise often negative treatment experiences in the context of compulsory admissions and frequent use of coercive means. Training for mental health and other emergency staff in de-escalation (10), or increasing primary care practitioners’ mental health awareness (71) may also improve access and the quality of initial contact with treatment providers.…”