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    The Role of the Approved Mental Health Professional: A ‘Fool’s Errand’?

    Leah, Caroline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6659-7848 (2022) The Role of the Approved Mental Health Professional: A ‘Fool’s Errand’? The British Journal of Social Work, 52 (7). pp. 3802-3819. ISSN 0045-3102

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    Abstract

    This article explores the concept of a ‘fool’s errand’ in relation to the specialist role of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP). An AMHP has a duty to make an application following a Mental Health Act assessment to detain and admit an individual to a psychiatric hospital. Findings from a qualitative study of ten multiprofessional AMHPs in England suggested AMHPs were subjected to a ‘fool’s errand’, when they were asked by psychiatrists and bed managers to practice in a way, they, themselves, considered unwise or foolish and that did not make sense in the context of their role. The author will illuminate how false starts and delays in securing treatment and care outcomes for mentally unwell individuals compromised AMHP practice.

    Item Type: Article
    Peer-reviewed: Yes
    Date Deposited: 20 Apr 2022 11:18
    Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
    Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The British Journal of Social Work following peer review. The version of record Caroline Leah, The Role of the Approved Mental Health Professional: A ‘Fool’s Errand’?, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 52, Issue 7, October 2022, Pages 3802–3819 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac059
    Divisions: Faculties > Health and Education
    Research Centres > Health, Psychology and Communities
    Subject terms: Social Sciences, Social Work, Approved Mental Health Professional, fool's errand, irony, Mental Health Act, mental health, professional practice, HYBRID PROFESSIONALISM, SOCIAL-WORK, 1607 Social Work, 1608 Sociology, 1701 Psychology, Social Work
    URI: https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/629580
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac059
    ISSN 0045-3102
    e-ISSN 1468-263X

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