Mental health simulation training in psychiatric skills for police and ambulance service personnel

Abstract

Introduction

UK healthcare policy has highlighted a shift in mental health services from hospital to community, stressing the importance of training for professions not traditionally associated with healthcare. Recommendations have been made to introduce training for the police force designed with experts. Similarly, the value of further training for ambulance clinicians in assessing mental health, capacity, and understanding legislation has been highlighted.

Aims

To investigate the effect of simulation training on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance service personnel in working with people experiencing mental health conditions.

Methods

On completion of data collection from 14 training courses, approximately 90 police and 90 ambulance personnel (n = 180) will have completed the human factors skills for healthcare instrument, confidence and knowledge self-report measures, and post-course qualitative evaluation forms. A version of the hfshi for non-clinical professions will hopefully be validated following data collection. Results will also be compared by profession.

Results

Analyses have not been fully completed, although preliminary statistical analyses demonstrate promising findings, with increases post-course for human factors skills, confidence and knowledge. Furthermore, qualitative feedback initially illustrates valuable learning outcomes and interesting findings from comparisons by professions.

Conclusions

Mental health simulation training appears to have a promising impact on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance personnel for working with people experiencing mental health conditions.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.