4th Horatio Festival of Psychiatric Nursing: Working in Partnership

For this event the organising committee of MAPN and Horatio members have chosen the theme, ‘Working in Partnership’. This is a highly relevant approach to adopt for such a high profile event because whilst many of those delegates who have attended previous Horatio festivals have commented on how important it was to be at an event that focused almost exclusively on nursing the reality is that mental health care is not just about nurses. Whilst it is true that nurses are invariably the coordinators of most mental health care and indeed deliver a great deal of it over the 24 hour period, without the support, skills and expertise of other professional groups and care partners mental health care would be limited. It is the intention of this festival to celebrate the often unique partnerships that nursing has developed over the years with both colleagues and carers from different professional groups as well as perhaps the most important partnership of all, that with individuals who suffer the debilitating effects of mental illnesses.