Handover | Issue 41 - December 2017
This update comes to you from Stu Bigwood, director of nursing, specialist mental health service at Canterbury District Health Board. Stu is chair of the New Zealand Directors of Mental Health Nursing (DoMHN) group. Elaine Wogan, the immediate past-chair left recently to take up an opportunity in the non-government organisation (NGO) sector. We wish Elaine all the best in this next chapter of her mental health leadership journey.
The DoMHN’s workplan was outlined in the April 2017 publication of Handover (issue 38). Here is an update of some areas of the work plan and the outline of other activities and innovations.
Reducing seclusion and restraint
Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui (Te Pou) now produces reports for each district health board (DHB) twice a year, which outlines seclusion activity within the DHB and compares this to national data. Please contact your DoMHN to view and discuss this report.
All but two DHBs have had trainers complete the Safe Practice Effective Communication (SPEC) train-the-trainers programme. Rollout of the training to inpatient staff is now well underway in most DHBs. The biggest constraint is the provision of train-the-trainer opportunities around the country. To this end, the SPEC governance group has developed a business plan principally to support master trainers and the train-the-trainers programme. The major focus of the work for 2018 will be establishing and supporting trainers alongside provision of appropriate professional development for them.
There has been a lot of interest from other areas of health and social services about the SPEC programme (justice, police, corrections, NGOs, emergency departments and other general hospital areas). Currently the SPEC governance group is looking at how it can support other areas to develop their own training to fit the specific needs of people who access their services, the organisation and the sector.
New entry to specialist practice mental health and addiction nursing programme
Interviews are now well underway for the February 2018 intake and DHBs have indicated they are looking to employ record numbers of new graduates. We look forward to working with Health Workforce New Zealand and Te Pou to further strengthen and develop the programme over the coming years.
Other work
On 14 November, DoMHNs, general managers, directors of Area Mental Health Services, and clinical director partners participated in a workshop facilitated by the Health Quality and Safety Commission. This workshop was specifically to highlight and support the work of the mental health and addiction quality improvement programme. Each DHB has at least one quality improvement facilitator currently undertaking training as part of the programme and the DoMHNs are represented on both the leadership and steering groups for the programme. The five priorities for the programme are as follows:
- Learning from serious adverse events and consumer experience.
- Maximising physical health.
- Improving service transitions.
- Minimising restrictive care.
- Improving medication management and prescribing.
Traditionally, the quarterly meetings of the DoMHNs have been held in Wellington. This was primarily because of the central location of the agencies the DoMHNs wish to meet with, such as the Nursing Council of New Zealand, the Ministry of Health, the Mental Health Commission etc. A couple of years ago it was suggested that once a year the DoMHNs meet at another location as an opportunity to promote understanding of difference and innovation in mental health services across New Zealand. To this end, the February 2018 meeting will be held at Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB). We are looking forward to seeing the innovative new mental health acute facility, that is currently being built. There has been extensive staff, consumer and family participation in the design process. This process of co-design is acknowledged as essential in developing quality mental health services and facilities. CMDHB are also known to have been innovative in the area of primary-secondary integration and we are keen to look at these.
Hopefully by the time this issue of Handover is published the way forward for mental health services in Aotearoa New Zealand will be clearer. In times of change there are always opportunities, this would be a great time to New Zealand to invest in quality and effective mental health services.
Collectively, the DoMHNs wish to thank all people working in mental health and addiction for your commitment and contribution towards providing mental health care to the people of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
All the best for Christmas and the new year!