207 Staff counselling and consultation in an acute hospital setting. the value of evidence based practice

Introduction The Staff Counselling Service (SCS) promotes positive mental health and motivation by providing counselling, consultation, critical incident stress management (CISM) psycho-educational services, and Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBI’s) to all staff in an acute hospital setting. An evaluation of the core counselling service commenced in 2016, to gather data on presenting issues and to ascertain the effectiveness of the service. Methods Contextual statistical data such as client occupation, presenting issue, work related presentations (per Health Services Executive Management standards) are recorded and treatment outcomes are tracked via a web based Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT) system. Clients complete an Outcome Ratings Scale (ORS)1 at the beginning of each session to indicate their perception of how they are functioning and complete a Session Ratings Scale (SRS)2 at the end of each session scoring their experience of the session. 1 2000, Scott D. Miller and Barry L. Duncan 2 2000, Scott D. Miller and Barry L. Duncan Results In 2016, 21% of presenting cases were ‘Work Related’, the remaining 79% were ‘Personal’ or ‘Both’ (work and personal). A breakdown of Work Related issues show 33% due to Relationship issues; 21% Support issues; 19% ‘CISM’; 16% ‘Demands’ with the remaining 11% relating to Role, Investigations and Work Injury. The average intake scores indicate that presentations were in line with scores typical for Out Patient Mental Health Settings. Client progress for those still in counselling were 2 times better than no treatment. For those who had completed counselling, progress was 5 times more than no treatment and above average compared to International clients with identical intake scores. Discussion Data suggests that this is an effective counselling service. From a clinical perspective FIT facilitates ongoing collaboration and case review with clients. Low ORS scores can prompt timely onward referral to Occupational Health Physicians, allowing for clear dialogue, referencing measures which are easily understood. Work related presentations appear to support the ongoing provision of SCS interventions as a means of creating greater emotional intelligence and improving relationships.