Maltese Association of Psychiatric Nurses president Pierre Galea. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Stigma remains the biggest challenge psychiatric nurses have to deal with and their association is hoping that standards launched this week will make the profession more appealing.

There were several issues that kept prospective nurses from specialising in mental health, however, stigma and the negative media portrayal of incidents at Mount Carmel Hospital automatically made the profession less attractive, Pierre Galea said.

Mr Galea, who assumed the presidency of the Maltese Association of Psychiatric Nurses less than a year ago, was speaking to this newspaper ahead of the launch, on Wednesday, of 10 standards for psychiatric mental health nurses.

As the need for mental health services continues to increase and the profession becomes more diversified, MAPN – a registered voluntary organisation launched 11 years ago – has drawn up a list of standards meant to clarify the roles of psychiatric nurses.

These standards serve as a benchmark to improve the nurses’ performance and levels of care and include guidelines on how to build a therapeutic relationship, manage crisis and psychiatric emergencies as well as how to be ethical while on duty.

Standards serve as a benchmark to improve nurses’ performance

Mr Galea is one of the first three psychiatric nurses who graduated from the University of Malta in 1998.

Sadly, the number of full-time psychiatric nursing graduates remains small – there were three last year – although others followed part-time or specialisation courses. However, the need for such professionals is increasing.

According to the World Health Organisation’s European mental health action plan for 2013 to 2020, mental disorders are one of the top public health challenges, affecting about 25 per cent of the population every year.

Current issues, such as migration and terrorism in Europe, are gradually putting more pressure on mental health services.

If no adequate action was taken and the increasing mental health issues were addressed, they would just keep growing and be reflected in more sick leave and early retirement and, ultimately, impacting the country’s economy, Mr Galea warned.

Mr Galea referred to an incident, in which a person suffering from depression was so unwell that he could not make it to work and called in sick.

However, he did not dare answer the door when the work doctor came by, as he did not want to admit he was suffering from depression. Of course, refusing to answer the door got him into trouble with the employer.

The same fear of stigma is prevalent among people receiving treatment at Mount Carmel Hospital. The association has, in fact, joined other mental health advocates in calling for a move away from the hospital in Attard to Mater Dei Hospital.

People with mental health issues found it difficult to admit they were receiving treatment at Mount Carmel and would be much more comfortable saying they had an appointment – no matter the nature –  at Mater Dei, Mr Galea noted.

Although there was still more to be done, he pointed out that mental health services had come a long way and the trend of moving away from hospital institutions towards community mental health services was to be applauded.

Mr Galea, who works as a psychiatric nurse within the community, insisted that one way to cut down on the stigma was through education and awareness, though the new set of standards would also help bring about a shift in mentality.

The standards, which have already been discussed with the authorities, will also be the official basis for the Bachelor of Science (Honours) Mental Health Nursing degree.

The new guidelines on the profession are being launched a month ahead of the fourth Horatio European Festival of Psychiatric Nursing, which will be taking place in Malta.

Log onto www.map-n.net for more information.