Primary care 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.

 

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.

Training updated and reviewed November 2020; next review November 2023.

roup of GPs and nurses talking

nurse talking to patient

The training is endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing:

“The resource seems very accessible in language/content and structure. The contents of the resource is excellent, informative, contemporary and accessible. It is much required in primary care with useful practical application and advice.”

Module 1 - Promoting wellbeing

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

Module 2 - Encouraging healthy behaviour

The 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 disorder

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

Module 4 - Severe mental illness

The 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.

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.

Train the trainer toolkit