THEY THINK THEY CAN TALK TO NURSES - PRACTICE NURSES VIEWS OF THEIR ROLES IN CARING FOR MENTAL-HEALTH PROBLEMS

Background. Primary care teams have been encouraged to develop the car e they provide to patients with mental health problems, and a greater role for practice nurses has been advocated. However, little is known about practice nurses' current level of involvement or their perceived strengths and limitations in caring for patients' mental health probl ems. Aim. To describe practice nurses' current experiences of caring f or patients with mental health problems and to explore their perceptio ns about enlarging this role. Method. Pilot interviews were carried ou t with a purposeful sample of practice nurses to design a postal quest ionnaire, which was then sent to 635 practice nurses identified from f amily health services authority lists in six health authorities in the north-east of England. Results. Completed questionnaires were returne d by 445 (70%) practice nurses. Most nurses (83%) reported that they c ommonly saw patients with a range of mental health problems arising in directly or directly in consultations. Many practice nurses (52%) lack ed any formal mental health training and identified a broad range of t raining needs. A majority (80%) of responders had concerns about their abilities to address mental health problems effectively, given their existing workloads. However, most (61%) were keen to expand their role in mental health care if appropriate support and training were forthc oming. Conclusion. There is considerable potential for practice nurses to realize a greater and more effective role in the care of mental he alth problems in primary care. Developing practice nurses' contributio n will require further training and support.