Strategies for adapting under pressure: an interview study in community mental health services.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mental health services are operating under significant and sustained pressures. Healthcare professionals and managers are continually making adjustments, often improvised and inconsistent across teams. This study aimed to identify and describe the everyday pressures experienced in community mental health settings and the adaptive strategies used by senior leadership and management staff to respond. The longer-term goal is to inform more coordinated, practical approaches to managing services under pressure.

Methods

We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 22 senior leadership and management staff from community mental health services within a single NHS Trust in England. Interviews explored the everyday pressures encountered and the strategies adopt

SUBMITTER: Buivydaite R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12738820 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature