NS5331 Effective Clinical Governance

CLINICAL HEALTHCARE ISSUES AND HOW TO ADDRESS THEM
POSTER 1: MENTAL HEALTHCARE- MEDICAL STAFF
Medical staff include nurses and doctors in a hospital setting. The Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, (20th June, 2018) stated in an article that nearly half of Australians will experience
mental illnesses in their life. Around 45% of Australians aged between 16-85 will experience a
mental illness in their life, mostly anxiety disorders and mood disorders, such as bipolar and
clinical depression.
Medical staff can deal with issues such as stigmatization, lack of adequate professionals such as
psychotherapists, lack of awareness by citizens and limited and expensive medication.
Mostly medical staff who suffer from mental illnesses are stigmatized and discriminated against,
and are considered to be incompetent and unreliable. This makes many people with mental
illnesses undergo unemployment, poverty and suffering.
Medical staff can go to door to door missions to educate the masses on how to identify and deal
with medical illnesses and disorders. They can also get trained on the proper way to care for and
treat patients with mental disorders. They can also educate the masses on acceptance of patients
with mental illnesses.
It is important for all medical staff to participate.
POSTER 2: MENTAL HEALTHCARE- CLIENTS
Clients in clinical health are the patients. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(AIHW), (20th June, 2018) stated in an article that the groups of people who experience increased
rates of mental illnesses include men who served in the Australian Defense Forces, who mostly
experience affective disorders such as depression, people who identify as homosexual or
bisexual, who experience anxiety disorders and females aged between 15-24.
Mental illnesses are a very common part of the healthcare spectrum and should be treated with
maximum importance. The current issues facing mental healthcare is stigmatization, lack of
knowledge by patients and their families and expensive medication and therapy.
Stigmatization is the disapproval and discrimination of people living with mental illnesses such
as clinical depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. This makes these people feel left out
of normal life activities such as getting certain jobs and sports, because they are considered risky
and dangerous. The solution to this is mass education and sensitization of people, which will be
done through the poster.

Another issue is the lack of awareness by people with mental illnesses, where they do not know
that they are suffering from a mental illness therefore do not seek professional help and end up
suffering a lot more. The solution to this is mass education also.
The last issue that will be addressed in the poster will be expensive medication and therapy.
There are limited psychotherapists, and this issue can be addressed through free testing and
therapy sessions from time to time.
REFERENCES
Stigmatization of mental illness and its impact on recruitment of medical students to a career in
psychiatry.. Z Lyons, S Hood- Education Research and Perspectives, 2011-
search.informit.com.au
Belief in the dangerousness of people with mental disorders: reviews.., AF Jorm, NJ Reavley,
AM Ross- Australian & New Zealand, 2012- journals.sagepub.com
Combating the Enemy Within: Building Trust, Leading Change and Defeating the Mental Health
Stigma.., CP Karns, 2013- dtic.mil