Educating NHS Direct advisors to support the client with mental health problems: using role-play as a tool to facilitates skill acquisition

NHS Direct has been included in the Government plans to revolutionize Health Care Delivery. There has also been an emphasis placed on NHS telephone support for the mental health user. Mental health calls are a source of stress for NHS Direct Nurse Advisors, as only a small number are trained mental health nurses. This paper describes the role of education in helping overcome this stress by facilitating knowledge acquisition, skills attainment and confidence in the use of telephone intervention. Role-play is generally seen as a visual learning method. This paper outlines how to break this mould and use role-play as an audio teaching method for nurse advisors. The eventual aim is to provide a safe, sound and supportive service to the mental health user.