Community psychiatric nursing – challenges and opportunities

The complexity of dealing with serious mental illness in a community setting presents a significant challenge to mental health services. To meet the needs of this client group the contribution and function of the community psychiatric nurse needs clearer definition. Post registration qualification is essential for this. The focus of training and practice should be on health care needs, to avoid the perceived similarities with social work practice. The dominance of the medical model is weakening, providing the opportunity for community psychiatric nurses to become more autonomous, as is currently evident in their role in court diversion schemes. This automony can be demonstrated in the key pivotal role the community psychiatric nurse can play at the interface between health services and the criminal justice system, primary care and specialist mental health care. Political awareness of their situation will be needed if community psychiatric nurses are to rise to this challenge and promote significant health gain for the seriously mentally ill.