The lifesaver framework: a metaphor for enhancing assessment for parents who present to mental health services and who have children

This paper proposes a simple assessment framework that Mental Health Nurses (MHNs) can use to identify infants and children at risk when a parent or caregiver diagnosed with a mental illness presents to a mental health facility. The Lifesaver Framework is intended to complement existing assessment processes by using three Australian lifesaving flag metaphors as a means of including the child’s overall health and emotional wellbeing within current assessment practices. Not to be confused or mistaken with the NSW Health - Between the Flags - Keeping Patients safe strategy, this publication is a version of an award winning presentation as part of the 2011 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses’ 37th International Mental Health Nursing Conference - “Swimming between the Flags.” Between the flags recognises the parent/child relationship is within general growth and developmental milestones and that the parent/child relationship is consistent with and responsive to the emotional needs of the child. Adjusting the flags indicates that vulnerabilities exist within the parent/child relationship, and that the child’s development is potentially compromised, highlighting the need for an early intervention referral. A red flag indicates that there is imminent risk of harm to the child and that an immediate action is required in order to provide a safe environment for the child. Family configurations are ever changing and in Mental Health Nursing this is no different. In this paper the terms parent and child are given to include other variations, such as caregiver and infant.