Developing Service User Involvement in the Mental Health Department of a Paediatric Hospital

This dissertation traces the development and implementation of a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) in the area of Service User Involvement within the mental health department of a paediatric hospital. The change management project described focused specifically on the setting up and initial meetings of two Service User panels – one for parents/carers and their representatives and one for young people and their representatives. The dissertation sets out the rationale for this change project drawing on a number of key health policy publications of the last decade and on the literature base generally in this particular policy area. The HSE change model was used as a framework for the design and implementation of the change project. The formative stage of the development of service user involvement described in this dissertation was evaluated using a multi-source feedback questionnaire. The findings from this evaluation are discussed and recommendations are made for the next phase of this work. The project was successful in achieving its aims and the main conclusion from the process to date is the need for further work to mainstream the change within the culture, processes and structures of the mental health department.