Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Minghella.
A 24-hour home care team for people with severe mental illness has led to a reduction in inpatient stays and reduced service costs, according to a controlled evaluation. The 24-hour availability was popular with users. Home treatment should not be seen as an exclusive alternative to inpatient care. Admission is essential in some cases.
Carers of people diagnosed with schizophrenia want more support and greater involvement in the care of the service user. Access to 24-hour support is highly rated. Almost half the carers in this study received no support from anyone--professional or otherwise.
A pathways study looking at the process of acute care found the most vulnerable people admitted to hospital appeared to be the least likely to have received effective community care. Community services must be more systematically focused on those most in need. Day hospitals need to function as acute alternatives to inpatient care. Accommodation for newer service users must be considered.
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Community mental health teams (CMHTs) are widely regarded as the mainstay of community services, bringing health and social services professionals together to target people with severe mental health problems. Heather Harper and Edana Minghella report the findings of a recent survey looking at the pressures and rewards of working in these community-based, multi-disciplinary teams.
Critical incident analysis has been espoused as a valuable method of promoting reflective nursing practice and as a tool for developing curriculum content. Despite an obvious application to mental health nursing, however, there has been little detailed examination of the practicalities and educational value of critical incident analysis within a mental health nursing curriculum. This paper is based on the use of critical incident analysis within the mental health branch of a Project 2000 diploma course. It presents the content of material brought by students, teaching methods used to facilitate learning, and the progressive development of students' reflective processes over the course of a complete branch programme. Using Benner's (1984) From Novice to Expert, the authors explore questions regarding the nature and effects of the critical incident technique in attaining competence in mental health nursing skills. The authors conclude with a theory-based evaluation and analysis of this student-centered experiential approach to learning as a method for developing reflective practice, and suggest areas for educational research.