Occupational health in mental health services: a qualitative study

• Published date: 10 December 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-02-2019-0021
• Pages: 32-44
• Date: 10 December 2019
• Author: Jennifer Oates,Rasiha Hassan
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Healthcare management,HR & organizational behaviour,Human resource policy,Employee welfare

Occupational health in

mental health services:

a qualitative study

Jennifer Oates and Rasiha Hassan

Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing,

Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London, London, UK

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’perspectives on

employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health Service.

Design/methodology/approach –Thematic analysis of data from seven semi-structured interviews is

performed in this paper.

Findings –Three themes emerged under the core themeof “Situating OH services”:“the Uniqueness of the

mental healthservice setting”,“the Limitations of OH services”and“the Meaning of mental healthat work”.An

importantfinding came from the firsttheme that management referralsin mental health may be due to disputes

about workers’fitness to face violence and aggression, a common feature of their working environment.

Research limitations/implications –Thiswas a small scale study of a previouslyunresearchedpopulation.

Practical implications –These findings should be used to refine and standardise OH provision for mental

healthcare workers, with a particular focus on exposure to violence and workers’potential “lived experience”

of mental illness as features of the mental health care workplace.

Originality/value –This is the first study to explore OH clinicians’perspectives on the mental health

service working environment.

Keywords Interviews, Mental health, Disclosure, Occupational health, Workplace violence

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

This is the first study to present qualitative accounts of the experiences of occupational

health (OH) doctors and nurses in mental health service provider organisations. It offers a

new and important perspective on the mental health and well-being of healthcare

professionals. Health workforce well-being is of interest to policy makers and service

providers because of the proven impact of staff sickness absence and workforce retention on

patient safety, patient experience and efficiency of service (Sizmur and Raleigh, 2018). There

is an imperative to address health workforce well-being because of health workforce

shortages and increased demand for care (Buchan et al., 2017). Mental health concerns are a

major reason for referral to OH services (Money et al., 2014; Madan et al., 2013). Sickness

absence due to mental ill health is higher in mental health nurses and doctors than their

counterparts in general acute settings (Johnson et al., 2018).

Background

OH services are commissioned by employers to assist them with the assessment and

management of their workers’health. In England (the site of this study) OH services are

distinctfrom the National Health Service (NHS).Whilst all NHS providers will havesome form

of OH service for staff,the service may be provided in-houseby the employer or be contracted

out to a non-NHS provider (Williams et al., 2012). This means that expectations, roles and

responsibilities of OH cliniciansdiffer from those of NHS primary or secondarycare clinicians,

although all doctors andnurses will be bound by their professional codes and havecommon

educationalroutes into their professions. As OH servicesare commissioned by employers,OH

clinicians’focus is not solely on the well-being of employees but on supporting employers

International Journal of Workplace

Health Management

Vol. 13 No. 1, 2020

pp. 32-44

© Emerald PublishingLimited

1753-8351

DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-02-2019-0021

Received 12 February 2019

Revised 17 August 2019

Accepted 30 October 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/1753-8351.htm

32

IJWHM

13,1