Mental health nurse day rolled out annually as interest in profession lifts

On the second-ever Mental Health Nurses’ Day, Ed Freshwater told Nursing Times he believed greater public understanding of mental illness was helping to boost interest in this field of nursing.

"The number of mental health nurses was literally decimated in the last 10 years"

Ed Freshwater

Latest official NHS figures show that the number of mental health nurses in England as of October 2019 had reached the highest level since 2014 with 37,211 in employment.

“There’s been so much in the public eye about raising awareness of mental health issues that I think has been productive to some extent,” said Mr Freshwater, deputy manager of a mental health wellbeing team in Coventry and chair of the Royal College of Nursing Mental Health Forum.

“The gap is in providing some therapeutic input for people who are really struggling with complex issues, and while I can’t say for sure I think the awareness raising has encouraged or motivated people who care to start their training.”

Despite the recent increase, mental health nurse numbers are still down 8.5% compared with 2009 and Mr Freshwater said there remained a huge gap between staffing and patient demand.

Ed Freshwater

“Let’s not forget that the number of mental health nurses was literally decimated in the last 10 years; we have a very long way to go to get numbers up to where they need to be,” he warned.

Mr Freshwater and his colleagues from the RCN Mental Health Forum launched the first Mental Health Nurses’ Day last year.

The aim of the campaign is to celebrate, describe and promote the profession of mental health nursing.

The first year was treated as a trial to gauge interest in such an event and Mr Freshwater said the response had been “amazing”.

As a result, Mental Health Nurses’ Day will now take place every year on 21 February.

The forum is using this year’s campaign to remind employers of the importance of ensuring mental health nurses are able to take their breaks.

Mr Freshwater said it had been told loud and clear by colleagues that “the pressure they face every day is made worse by missing breaks and finishing late”.

Organisations are also being encouraged to consider putting on a special celebration today to mark the initiative, while nurses themselves are asked to shout out about the vital work they do.

"We must highlight their dedication and remind them how valued they are"

Sean Duggan

Asked why he believed mental health nursing needed a dedicated campaign, Mr Freshwater said this area of nursing had “long been disregarded”.

“We see that in the media that nurses are presented in uniform on general wards doing physical interventions, but thousands of nurses work in the community, in rehab facilities and all kinds of other locations,” he noted.

“Ask a member of the public about mental health nurses and the only visual you get is Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

“We have to take steps to change perceptions, and part of that is building awareness of the job we do and the kind of person it takes.”

Mr Freshwater said he believed the tide was beginning to turn, with portrayals of mental health in the media starting to align more closely with reality.

Although he stressed that there was still much work to do, and he hoped Mental Health Nurses’ Day could play a part in addressing the issues that remained.

“Stereotypes around mental health are slowly being challenged, and recent TV programmes have done a huge amount,” he told Nursing Times.

“We need to share that mental illness and distress can happen to anyone, and that there’s no shame in being unwell.

“We need to be champions for compassionate approaches, we need to better define the work of mental health nurses, we desperately need to recruit more and retain the skills of our colleagues.

“If we can help our colleagues feel wanted and valued on Mental Health Nurses’ Day, I’ll be happy.”

Stuart Tuckwood

Among the high-profile supporters of the campaign is Stuart Tuckwood, national nursing officer at the union Unison.

He said despite increasing recognition of the importance of good mental health support, many services remained “in crisis”.

“The number of mental health nurses has dropped over the past decade, when we need them more than ever, meaning there are often unsafe staffing levels in services,” he told Nursing Times.

“It’s putting both staff and the people they support at risk.”

Mr Tuckwood said it was essential that action was taken to encourage more people to consider a career in mental health nursing.

“Improved student finance, better work environments, an emphasis on the positive impact on people’s lives and the satisfaction of a career in this area would all help with recruitment,” he added.

"Hopefully, by talking about their inspiring work, we can begin to make a difference"

Stuart Tuckwood

“Hopefully, by talking about the inspiring work of staff working in mental health, we can begin to make a difference.”

Former mental health nurse Sean Duggan, now chief executive of the Mental Health Network, which is part of the NHS Confederation, also expressed his backing for Mental Health Nurses’ Day.

He told Nursing Times: “It is vitally important we recognise and celebrate the exceptional quality of service our mental health nurses deliver.

“Having worked as a mental health nurse myself, I understand the unique challenges these nurses face and we must highlight their dedication and remind them how valued they are.

Sean Duggan

“We are seeing the number of mental health nurses increase and, while the numbers fall far short of where we need to be, the shift in dialogue around mental health means it is becoming a more attractive area to work in.

“Once we see a commitment to improving the environments in which we deliver mental health, we will be on the right path to creating the space in which our mental health nurse workforce can thrive.”

To follow and get involved in the campaign on social media, use the hashtag @MHNursesDay.

The RCN Mental Health Forum will also be hosting a "Tweetchat" tonight at 8pm.