Monika Dudová
Charles University, Czech Republic
Title: Competencies of professionals in multidisciplinary teams in mental health centres in the Czech Republic
Biography
Biography: Monika Dudová
Abstract
Statement of problem: Since 2013 there has been an ongoing transformation of psychiatric care in the Czech Republic.
Psychiatry care should stand on 4 pillars: psychiatry hospitals, where the number of beds is being reduced, psychiatry
departments in general hospitals, outpatient departments and new loew-trashold pillar – Mental Health Care Centres (MHC).
The core of MHC is a multidisciplinary team consisted of psychiatrist, psychologists, peer worker(s), psychiatric nurses and
social workers.
Findings: The research was taking place during the launching of the pilot MHC projects. The multidisciplinarity brings new views
on providing care to people with SMI. The results showed that the overlapping of competencies in MHC is no an issue. However
sharing, looking into the health or social databases, giving medication, inssufficient salaries for professionals or nonexisting
network of the other community mental health services were marked as the problematic areas. The obstacles, risky for the
optimal function of the team, are caused by the legislative definition of psychiatric nurses´and social workers´competencies.
Conclusion & Significance: The existing definition of competencies of professionals, mainly psychiatric nurses and social
workers, is not corresponding with the needs of community oriented mental health services in MHC. The transition from
institutionalized care to a community environment needs different education of psychiatric nurses, who should learn
the methods of the social work, community work or case management. Social workers should be educated in areas of
psychopathology, psychopharmacology or crisis intervention. The new form of care of SMI in community conditions brings
a new formo f cooperation between the professionals, contributes to the destigmatization of the people with mental disorders
and psychiatry in general. The deinstitucionalization and transformation of psychiatric care is aimed at improving quality of
psychiatry services and increasing the full-fledged inclusion of people with mental disorders into society.