Mental health nursing in acute settings

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Abstract
Some nurses in acute mental health units are spending almost 40 per cent more of their time on office duties compared to their counterparts in the 1980s. Keith Hurst, Gerald Wistow and Ray Higgins unveil the key findings from their major new study into acute services Mental health issues currently have a very high profile. Professionals have been asked to implement a range of policy initiatives which are designed to overcome public anxiety about violent offences committed by people with a mental illness (Department of Health 1994). Despite criticism and doubts over its effectiveness, community care remains the main plank in the NHS’s mental health strategy as we approach the millennium. The combination of the slow buildup of community alternatives to hospital care, the decline in the number of beds and rising demands for psychiatric services during and since the 1980s, have all increased the pressures on acute services (House of Commons Health Committee 1994). As a result, nurses working in acute services face a number of key issues. These include the:

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