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The introduction of the role hopes to improve organisational knowledge of the duty of care to patients with mental health needs on site, as well as contribute to mental health training, site support and improved clinical practice.
Charlene Hales (above, centre) took up the role six weeks ago, having previously worked at North Mid in a similar role, and two new mental health matrons have recently been appointed at Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.
Charlene will lead on the trust’s strategic plan for mental health including regulatory compliance and clinical practices on various sites, whilst supporting the matrons who will be leads on their respective sites. “A CQC report from 2020 found that across the country, action is needed to address mental health care within the acute hospital settings,” Charlene said.
“The CQC cited that patients are not getting the right help at the right time which can lead to symptoms worsening and people needing care for a prolonged period of time.
“Our first few weeks in the role have been about learning the ways our sites work, and embedding ourselves into the already existing networks to raise the profile of ourselves and the service we provide. Soon I’ll bring a report which will recommend new or different approaches to how we support our patients with their mental health.”
A priority will be to introduce processes that cater to the needs of each hospital site.
“For example, at Barnet Hospital we have a much older cohort of patients and the mental health requirements associated with that are different to those at the Royal Free Hospital,” Charlene said. "It's important to gain an understanding of the mental health needs of all patients, including at Chase Farm Hospital and satellite sites.
“Part of mine and the team’s role is to understand the needs of each site, and implement different approaches to suit the patients that present there.
“Training, enhancement of EPR functions as well as better collaboration with the clinical psychiatry teams will allow us to have better oversight of patients with mental health needs. While we will take the lead, everyone has a responsibility when it comes to the mental health of our patients, and it is just about making sure staff prioritise it as much as physical health, which we call parity of esteem.”
Meet the matrons
Ruby Fitzhenry (above, right) is the mental health matron at the Royal Free Hospital, and Dellah Katsande (above, left) is the mental health matron at Barnet Hospital.
They support the clinical and site teams with flow of patients, providing expertise in risk assessments and interfacing with the liaison psychiatry team on site.
