What is ‘Mental Health Deserves Better’ and how can I get involved?

As more and more people become aware of the ‘Mental Health Deserves Better’ (#MHDeservesBetter) movement, many ask how they can get involved and what they can do to help. Depending on who you are, there may be different options available to you. One thing is certain, and that is that creating any change to the status quo requires a significant effort from a significant number of people.

Make yourself and others aware of the movement and the arguments:

The first thing to do is to make yourself aware of the issues. In short, the movement is about the dilution of mental health nurse education, with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and approved education institutions (AEIs) both to varying degrees responsible for a situation where there is less mental health focus in undergraduate education for students studying mental health nursing. We have written a manifesto, and also have a living library which is updated with any articles, presentations and resources related to the issue. If you read and review these materials, it will prepare you to further share the concerns with others. Learn about the issues, tell someone else, and ask them to share with others. Share content via social media and use the #MHDeservesBetter hashtag, or share through word of mouth. Every little helps.

Stay connected, get updates and attend meetings:

Anyone can join our mailing list or attend meetings. If you want to sign up or communicate anything at all to the group, just email MHDeservesbetter@hotmail.com. You can also follow the movement on twitter (recently bizarrely rebranded as ‘X’) with the handle @MH_DeservesBett

Mental Health Nurse Academics teaching in academic institutions:

Mental health nurse academics are often outnumbered in academic institutions, and can find it difficult to have their voice heard. The #MHDeservesBetter movement is now evidence of a national concern about the dilution of mental health nursing education which you can use to your advantage. Let your heads of school and course leads know about the movement, and share the open letter and other publications in the library. Let them know where you agree, and raise the key points in the debate.

Whilst challenging the NMC and the future nurse standards may be an ongoing issue for some time, given nursing curricula are revalidated every few years, there are opportunities to be seized with the potential for improvement. Staying connected with colleagues across different universities is essential, as we share ideas and experiences to try and advocate for the best mental health nursing courses possible.

Mental health nurse education is also in dire need of ongoing research to explore academic and student experience, the readiness of graduates for the role, and the many various issues related to the quality of education. If you have any opportunity, please consider adding to the evidence base so we can move our experiences from what has been criticised as ‘anecdotal’ to those respected as ‘data’ and ‘evidence’.

Students studying mental health nursing:

Students will have an insight and experience of mental health nursing education which others will not, and as such your voice is incredibly important and valuable. Students are the very people who we feel, through no fault of their own, may not be adequately prepared for the complexity of the profession they are entering, and we would hope you are able to communicate your perspectives on this.

Universities often seek feedback on students experiences of academic modules, placements, and sometimes entire course experiences such as the National Student Survey. Whilst we appreciate there can be a case of ‘survey fatigue’, or these can be overlooked as just another email or form to fill in, without communicating your experience formally it may not be known, and certainly not acknowledged. You may feed back your experience through class representatives who then attend staff-student liaison meetings, or on placement feedback you may mention how appropriate the practice assessment document is for the area, and how well university prepared you to participate. We know there is variation in student experience across the UK, so we are simply urging you to complete all feedback opportunities available, and to be honest. Praise your course/module/placement where you feel it has given you a good experience and prepared you well, be honest and specific when you feel it has not. If you feel ‘Mental Health Deserves Better’ raises concerns which relate to your experience, you can mention the movement in your responses.

If you would like to share your experiences through writing for publication, we can offer you support to do so.

Mental Health Nurses who support student learning:

Talk to your students about their university curricula and their practice assessment document. Consider whether you feel these things are effectively preparing students to do the job you do.

Talk to your practice education teams and university link lecturers. Talk about the issues raised by #MHDeservesBetter and pass on your thoughts. If there are opportunities to be involved in curricula development at your local university, please take these up and ensure your voice is heard.

Union Members

Many unions offer the chance for issues to be raised through their respective forums and annual meetings. Consider raising awareness of the issues through any avenues offered by your union, and let us know if you would like support to pursue this.

Write to your elected representatives:

We feel this is a serious issue impacting the entire United Kingdom, and as such our elected representatives should be made aware. Tell them about your concerns and direct them to the debate. If you would like a template to help you articulate the concerns raised by our movement please email MHdeservesbetter@hotmail.com. Follow the links below to find your representatives:

UK Representatives: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Scotland Representatives: https://www.parliament.scot/msps

Wales Representatives: https://senedd.wales/find-a-member-of-the-senedd/

Tag the Nursing and Midwifery Council:

Though we feel universities do have a part to play in addressing these issues, the NMC have the power to and indeed a job to do in regulating the profession, including education, and should be made aware of ongoing dissatisfaction. It is in their gift to take this more seriously and protect and promote the profession of mental health nursing. If you use twitter and have things to say or share relevant to this cause, please do tag the NMC by using their handle @nmcnews. This will be picked up by their communications department.

Show your support:

For people who use social media, whenever engaging on this issue please use the hashtag #MHDeservesBetter. If you wish to share anything anonymously, send us an email (MHDeservesBetter@hotmail.com) and we can share your experiences whilst protecting your anonymity.

Feel free to copy/save the following symbol and get it put on badges, mugs, t-shirts, anything you like. When people see it and ask what it’s about, tell them. Every conversation helps.

If you have any more ideas which you think could be added to this document, let us know. Thank you for reading, and together we can push for the change which the mental health of the UK population deserves.