B
MH21.2013 Support people with mental health needs in crisis situations
Overview
This standard covers supporting people with mental health needs in a crisis situation by engaging with the person in a sensitive and facilitative manner to establish what has happened in their life to lead to the crisis. Ascertaining expressed wishes for crisis management in their person centred plans and support them in actioning these. You will need to assess the urgency for action and ensure the person has timely access to appropriate mental health crisis services. This standard applies to practitioners who support people with mental health needs in crisis situations.
Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies.
Version No 2
Knowledge and Understanding
You will need to know and understand:
- the current national legislation, guidelines and local policies and protocols which affect your work practice
- the impact of the broader social environment on individuals
- principles about balancing the rights of people, families, carers, groups and communities with the interests of society and the requirements of practice
- relevant policies on diversity, discrimination and promoting independence/autonomy of adults, children, families, groups and communities, and research on their effectiveness
- the possible impact of psychological and sociological welfare on :
- human growth and development and the factors that impact on it
- mental health and well being
- social interactions and relationships
- discrimination and oppression
- human behaviour
- risks of harm to people, families , groups and communities
- the range of national and local resources and services available
- organisational policies and procedures for crisis and risk management
- theories, models and evidence based approaches to crisis management
- how to access and use information and communications technology and other electronic systems that may help in planning and review
- your own role, values and responsibility and how this relates to supporting people in crisis situations
- ethical dilemmas and conflicts of interest and their implications on your practice
- respect for, and the promotion of:
- each person as an individual with unique values
- independence and quality of life for people, whilst protecting them from harm
- dignity and privacy of people, families, carers, groups and communities
- how to communicate effectively with person, carers, family and colleagues
- the importance of valuing, recognising, respecting and promoting the diversity, expertise and experience of people with mental health needs and their significant others
- how to maintain the trust and confidence of people, families, carers, groups and communities by communicating in an open, accurate and understandable way
- strategies to challenge discrimination, disadvantage and other forms of inequality and injustice
- theories about the impact of discrimination, and methods of working with diversity
- methods of working with people who may need to access these services
- the importance of clinical supervision and how to access this
- sources of evidence based and values based practice
- theories, methods and evidence based approaches for promoting personal, social and emotional well being
Performance Criteria
You must be able to do the following:
- undertake consultation with relevant colleagues in a crisis situation
- form relationships with the person, carers and their significant others to explore and make sense of their distress and their experiences of the crisis situation
- work alongside the person in a crisis situation to engender trust and reduce their distress and meet their physical and safety needs
- receive and appropriately record requests to respond to a crisis situation following legal and organisational procedures
- assess the urgency of need and response required
- access any information that may be relevant to the request for action
- discuss the request and possible actions with all appropriate people and organisations
- where possible, agree an appropriate course of action with your supervisor or manager and ensure access to supervision is available to you to enable you to address your own feelings regarding stressful or uncertain circumstances
- assess the situation, including risks to people, families, carers, groups, communities, yourself and other workers and colleagues, and take appropriate action
- in the event of legal powers being necessary, inform, clarify and explain to the person, in a way that can be understood:
- their rights
- the rights of others in their networks
- the basis of the legal powers involved
- any legal procedures that might follow and their stages and processes
- promote the principles of mental health legislation in all crisis interventions to support and protect the person
- share information according to legal, policy and procedural requirements
- identify, justify and record the need for, and the type of, legal and procedural interventions necessary to address the crisis
- identify any needs which require immediate attention
- collect, analyse, collate and evaluate feedback on actions from all relevant people and organisations
- reflect on your own decisions to follow a particular course of action and the consequences of that action
- actively participate in reflection and supervision following crisis situation
- work alongside the person to identify additional support needed to prevent further crises
- provide feedback from the evaluation to relevant people in a usable and accessible form
- record, and use review outcomes to inform:
- future plans for people, families, carers, groups and communities
- your own work
- the work of your own team and organisation
- the work of other teams and organisations
Additional Information
This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health.
This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004):
Dimension: HWB3 Protection of health and wellbeing