SKELLERN LECTURE,  Professor Alan Simpson - Peers, professionals and politics: mental health nursing in an age of austerity

Introduced by Karina Lovell

 

Should peer support workers be welcomed or feared by the nursing profession?  The unique expertise that peer supporters can offer mental health service users is increasingly recognised and valued as an important dimension in aiding recovery. But peer support is surfacing at a particular point in the history of the welfare state.

 

Critics argue that the government is using deficit reduction to shrink the public sector and erode the status of professional groups while trying to establish an army of volunteers to fill gaps under the banner of the “Big Society”.   The current government has accelerated initiatives begun under previous administrations where unqualified workers ostensibly employed to support professional staff have over time been forced to step up and replace qualified colleagues delivering core public sector services in a drive to cut costs. Meanwhile, attacks on professional groups have intensified as the case for outsourcing to a fragmented private sector and disparate charities is amplified. The value of professional qualifications has also come under attack, from arguments that say nurses are now too educated, to the recent relaxation of the need for those who teach in state schools to hold a teaching qualification. In the light of this political landscape should mental health nursing view the arrival of peer support workers as a welcome addition to the team, or a threat that will see the quota of trained nurses diminish and their expertise side-lined?  Are concerns about the emergence of peer support staff simply old-fashioned protectionism or a genuine concern for patient care, wellbeing and recovery? If patient recovery and empowerment is at the heart of the matter, what is the future for mental health nurses and what are the implications for effective collaboration?