Expanding roles within mental health legislation: an opportunity for professional growth or a missed opportunity?
This paper aims to highlight both the necessity, and the way forward for mental health nursing to integrate proposed legislative roles into practice. Argued is that community mental health nursing, historically absent from active participation within mental health law in the UK, is faced with new and demanding roles under proposed changes to the 1983 Mental Health Act of England and Wales. While supporting multidisciplinary training for such roles, the imperative of incorporating nursing specific values into consequent training programs is addressed through the offered educative framework. This framework explores the issues of power, ethics, legislative thematics and application to contemporary service structures.
Hurley
J
J
School of Nursing, University of Dundee, Ninewells Campus, Dundee, UK. jmhurley@dundee.ac.uk
Linsley
P
P
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002322:Career Mobility; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D032022:Delegation, Professional / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004739:England; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D017145:Models, Educational; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011209:Power, Psychological; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011361:Professional Competence; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014852:Wales