Nurses and allied healthcare professionals

Nurses and allied healthcare professionals

We offer training for nurses and allied healthcare professionals to increase their knowledge, confidence, and skills in managing patients’ mental health and wellbeing.

Though originally designed for healthcare professionals working in primary care, we can adapt our offering to those working in other clinical settings. This training is delivered via Microsoft Teams or Zoom and can be delivered directly or as train the trainer. We can deliver presentations for workshops and conferences which would be of interest to a wider audience. We also offer E-learning for nurses and allied healthcare professionals and have links to recommended training for GPs. 

Our training

This training is delivered free of charge by Dr Sheila Hardy, a dual qualified nurse (mental health and general) with many years’ clinical experience in primary care and mental health settings. We rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue our vital work and we would be grateful for donations of any amount. 

Our training equips nurses and allied healthcare professionals working in primary care to ensure patients with mental health problems receive appropriate help. The training is for healthcare professionals working with adults, though some content may be transferable to childhood presentation.

The training was originally developed as part of a Health Education England project and has since been updated and refined. It is targeted at nurses and allied healthcare professionals working in primary care in England, though it may be of relevance to other UK nations. Certificates of attendance can be provided.

Our training is continually reviewed and updated. 

Enquire about training 

Primary Care training modules

Module 1: Promoting wellbeing

This module includes factors which contribute to wellbeing and how to help people maintain their wellbeing.

Module 2 - Encouraging healthy behaviour

This module includes lifestyle behaviours that keep people healthy, and how to assess readiness to change behaviour, motivate change at each stage of readiness, and support people to change their behaviour.

Module 3: Common mental disorders

This module includes a definition of common mental disorder and how to recognise, measure and treat common mental disorders.

Module 4 - Severe mental illness

This module explains how a person with severe mental illness might be affected. It includes recognising relapse in mental health, and how to improve their physical health.

Enquire about our training

Train the trainer

This training can also be provided as a train the trainer programme. In collaboration with Health Education England, we have developed a toolkit for primary care. This provides guidance on using a train the trainer approach in educating the primary care workforce in mental health.

Download the toolkit

Physical health in SMI – training for mental health nurses

The purpose of this training to assist mental health nurses to reduce the mortality and promote good physical health for people with SMI in their care. The training consists of five modules which are 90 minutes long. The objectives for the attendees attending each session are listed below.

Session 1 – Why the physical health of people with SMI is our problem

• Understand why people with SMI are more likely to have a physical health problem
• Be aware of the physical health problems experienced by this group that can be prevented
• Recognise that they should consider the physical health of people with SMI in their care

Session 2 – Physical health – keeping healthy

• Understand what is meant by physical health
• Be aware of the behaviours that keep us physically healthy
• Consider why it might be difficult for people with SMI to engage in healthy behaviour

Session 3 – Supporting someone with SMI to be healthy

• To recognise a behaviour and an outcome
• Understand how to assess readiness to change behaviour
• Know how to respond to people at each stage of readiness
• Feel able to support people to change their behaviour using a structured approach

Session 4 – The annual health check

• Be aware of their responsibility regarding monitoring when a person has started taking antipsychotic medication
• Consider how best to organise a health check in their organisation
• Understand what elements are included in a health check
• Be motivated to make changes in practice which will enable people with SMI in their care to be monitored appropriately

Session 5 – How can we make the physical health of a person with SMI part of our everyday care?

Feel motivated to:

• assist their organisation to fulfil its responsibilities regarding physical health monitoring
• ensure patients with SMI have acute physical health issues dealt with appropriately in a timely manner
• assess the support available in their organisation to patients with SMI to manage their long-term physical conditions
• find ways to provide the support required by patients with SMI to adopt a healthy lifestyle

Enquire about our training

Mental Health and Wellbeing: a guide for nurses healthcare professionals working with adults in primary care

Around 30% of people attending primary care have a mental health problem. In addition, we have an aging population and more people coping with chronic physical and mental conditions. All these factors mean that healthcare professionals need more guidance on dealing with mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Sheila Hardy is a Charlie Waller mental health trainer. Her new book seeks to deepen the knowledge of nurses and other health professionals around mental health and wellbeing. It aims to help them feel more able to meet the needs of the people they see every day in a holistic way.

Topics covered include:

• Promoting wellbeing
• Encouraging healthy behaviour
• Common mental disorders
• Severe mental illness
• Learning disability
• Dementia
• Addiction

Get the book

Health Education England’s e-learning for Healthcare

Recommended e-learning for nurses and allied healthcare professionals

Included in the programme for nurses, healthcare assistants and allied healthcare professionals are seven e-learning units. Anyone with an NHS email can access these by registering with Health Education England’s e-learning for Healthcare (e-LfH).

After logging in, select ‘Mental Health Awareness Programme (MHP)’ then select ‘Practice Nurses’.

The units are:

• Managing alcohol in primary care
• Managing drug misuse in primary care
• Medication for mental health problems in primary care – part one
• Medication for mental health problems in primary care – part two
• Your patient’s journey
• Care planning
• Specific mental health conditions

Visit the e-learning for Healthcare website

Improving the physical health of people with severe mental illness

This 32-minute training film provides guidance to primary care professionals on how to reduce the risk of people with severe mental illness dying from preventable physical conditions. Healthcare professionals in primary care have been tasked with providing annual physical health checks to people with severe mental health issues. The film, based on training endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing, outlines best practice during these checks and in providing ongoing support. This project has been developed by NHS England and NHS Improvement – South East, Health Education England in partnership with the Charlie Waller Trust.

Watch the training