Abstract
BackgroundMental health leadership is a critical component of patient access to care. More specifically, the ability of mental health professionals to articulate the needs of patients, formulate strategies and engage meaningfully at the appropriate level in pursuit of resources. This is not a skill set routinely taught to mental health professionals.MethodsA public–private mental health leadership initiative, emanating from a patient access to care programme, was developed with the aim of building leadership capacity within the South African public mental health sector. The express aim was to equip health care professionals with the requisite skills to more effectively advocate for their patients. The initiative involved participants from various sites within South Africa. Inclusion was based on the proposal of an ongoing “project”, i.e. a clinician-initiated service development with a multidisciplinary focus. The projects were varied in nature but all involved identification of and a plan for addressing an aspect of the participants’ daily professional work which negatively impacted on patient care due to unmet needs. Six such projects were included and involved 15 participants, comprising personnel from psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy and nursing. Each project group was formally mentored as part of the initiative, with mentors being senior professionals with expertise in psychiatry, public health and nursing. The programme design thus provided a unique practical dimension in which skills and learnings were applied to the projects with numerous and diverse outcomes.ResultsBenefits were noted by participants but extended beyond the individuals to the health institutions in which they worked and the patients that they served. Participants acquired both the skills and the confidence which enabled them to sustain the changes that they themselves had initiated in their institutions. The initiative gave impetus to the inclusion of public mental health as part of the curriculum for specialist training.ConclusionsDespite the significant adverse social and economic costs of mental illness, psychiatric and related services receive a low level of priority within the health care system. Ensuring that mental health receives the recognition and the resources it deserves requires that mental health care professionals become effective advocates through mental health leadership.
Highlights
Mental health leadership is a critical component of patient access to care
Such a pronouncement resonates with the notion of developing leadership capacity at a mental health professional level with the intention of promoting enhanced patient care through effective advocacy
It is estimated that one in six South Africans are suffering from a common mental disorder [3] yet mental health is given little attention as a national health priority [4]
Summary
The ability of mental health professionals to articulate the needs of patients, formulate strategies and engage meaningfully at the appropriate level in pursuit of resources. Health in Africa [1] stated that “There is an urgent need for political vision, commitment, and leadership at the highest level to encourage national dialogue on mental health.”. Such a pronouncement resonates with the notion of developing leadership capacity at a mental health professional level with the intention of promoting enhanced patient care through effective advocacy. In the Foreword to South Africa’s National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013–2020 it is emphasized that good mental health will contribute substantially to economic and social development [8]
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