How patient safety is linked to mental health services

17^th September marks Patient Safety Day, a day that is celebrated in the healthcare sector globally. Patient safety is defined as the avoidance of unintended or unexpected harm to people during the provision of health care. Patient Safety Day is a way for all those who work in healthcare to come together and highlight the importance of patient safety.

How does patient safety link to mental health?

Experiencing a mental health difficulty can be an overwhelming, distressing and personalised experience so when it comes to supporting those affected, it needs to be treated with as such. Using person-centred attention and care. This is where patient safety comes into play. All healthcare providers strive to supply the best and safest care, this also includes the emotional wellbeing of patients when experiencing in-patients but also within communities as a whole.

The government’s mental health promise

In 2022, the government stated that they’re advancing patient safety in mental health care even further. Former Minister for Mental Health (2022-2024), Maria Caulfield, said in the report:

“It’s only right mental health care facilities meet the highest safety standards and that patients have faith in the care they receive.”

Read more about their patient safety review here.

Mental health charities ensure patient safety is paramount

Charities, such as Mental Health UK and Rethink Mental Illness, work alongside mental health facilities to make sure that patient safety is at the forefront of staff’s minds. Facilities where people are living and being treated need to be at the highest standard of patient safety. This is so the patients feel at home and comfortable in their environment, which in turn will help with their mental health. Charities ensure that the patients are cared for appropriately and are made to feel welcome.

One of our CBT therapists, Rebecca Meagher, says of patient safety:

The emotional and physical safety of every individual should be a top priority in our society. We should adopt this philosophy whichever environment a person finds themselves in and support people to feel safe. In order to increase personal safety and wellbeing, it is paramount that we prioritise finding out about individual needs and encourage hearing their voice. The simplest starting point to do this is by actively asking and listening.  Hearing an individual’s voice allows us to explore unique perspectives, enhance opportunities to meet need and facilitate a sense of empowerment and inclusion. Feeling validated enhances a feeling of personal safety and trust. Our Early Intervention and Prevention mission aims to begin this narrative at the earliest opportunity. Our whole school approach to mental health project aims involve all parts of a school working together to raise awareness and increase commitment to hearing the voice of pupils, parents, caregivers, school staff and the wider community to embed this concept at the earliest start.

To learn more about how mental health and patient safety are joined, please register your interest for one of our webinars. The ‘Every Adult an Ally’ webinar typically runs every three weeks, and is hosted by a member of our team. It is a half an hour webinar, explaining how our education course works so you can come away with a clear picture of whether our training is the right for you. You can register here.