Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface to second edition
- Preface to first edition
- Foreword
- Part I Therapeutic interventions
- Part II Interface issues
- 13 The provision of intensive care in forensic psychiatry
- 14 The interface with forensic services
- 15 Supporting people with learning disabilities on general psychiatric wards, PICUs and LSUs
- 16 The interface with general psychiatric services
- 17 The interface with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
- 18 Severe mental illness and substance abuse
- 19 Social work issues in PICUs and LSUs
- 20 User and carer involvement
- Part III Management of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit/Low Secure Unit
- Index
- References
20 - User and carer involvement
from Part II - Interface issues
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface to second edition
- Preface to first edition
- Foreword
- Part I Therapeutic interventions
- Part II Interface issues
- 13 The provision of intensive care in forensic psychiatry
- 14 The interface with forensic services
- 15 Supporting people with learning disabilities on general psychiatric wards, PICUs and LSUs
- 16 The interface with general psychiatric services
- 17 The interface with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
- 18 Severe mental illness and substance abuse
- 19 Social work issues in PICUs and LSUs
- 20 User and carer involvement
- Part III Management of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit/Low Secure Unit
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
This chapter is about the potential for change in inpatient Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) towards a culture in which users and carers are partners with healthcare professionals to produce the best possible service. Historically, the medical model has presumed that professionals know what is best for the patient. Subsequently there have been difficulties in staff teams' understanding and endorsing of user and carer involvement. However, the inclusion of users and carers in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services is now believed to be crucial and therefore this is an area that needs to be incorporated into practice.
This chapter aims to facilitate this process and first describes current policy on this issue and the evidence on which it is based. Next it addresses staff resistance and ways of supporting staff to reduce this. It then concentrates on patients' involvement in their own care. It then considers the role of user representatives and advocates to assists patients and their involvement services. Finally it discusses the inclusion and support of a patient's carers, which for the purposes of this chapter are defined as a patient's family, friends and loved ones. Throughout this chapter the terms ‘patient’ and ‘user’ will be used interchangeably to reflect current practice.
Policies
Numerous policy documents issued by the Department of Health (DoH) stress the need for a patient-centred National Health Service (NHS), including: Partnership in Action (DoH 1998), The National Service Framework for Mental Health (DoH 1999a), The NHS Plan (DoH 2000) and The NHS Improvement Plan (DoH 2004).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Psychiatric Intensive Care , pp. 275 - 282Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008