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Life in acute mental health settings: experiences and perceptions of service users and nurses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2013

D. Rose ,
J. Evans ,
C. Laker  and
T. Wykes
D. Rose*
Affiliation:
Service User Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
J. Evans
Affiliation:
Service User Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
C. Laker
Affiliation:
Service User Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
T. Wykes
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr Diana Rose, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, PO 34, London SE5 8AF, UK. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background.

Acute psychiatric provision in the UK today as well as globally has many critics including service users and nurses.

Method.

Four focus groups, each meeting twice, were held separately for service users and nurses. The analysis was not purely inductive but driven by concerns with the social position of marginalised groups – both patients and staff.

Results.

The main themes were nurse/patient interaction and coercion. Service users and nurses conceptualised these differently. Service users found nurses inaccessible and uncaring, whereas nurses also felt powerless because their working life was dominated by administration. Nurses saw coercive situations as a reasonable response to factors ‘internal’ to the patient whereas for service users they were driven to extreme behaviour by the environment of the ward and coercive interventions were unnecessary and heavy handed.

Conclusion.

This study sheds new light on living and working in acute mental health settings today by comparing the perceptions of service users and nurses and deploying service user and nurse researchers. The intention is to promote better practice by providing a window on the perceptions of both groups.

Keywords

Acute caremental healthnurse researchersservice user researchers
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 90 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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