Page 169 - Demo

General discussion1677The supportive role of patients’ (in)formal networks Collaboration with the patient’s networkPersons in the patient’s network can be supportive for both the practitioner and the patient with MID and MH problems and can therefore be important to collaborate with. They support the patient to access primary care when experiencing MH problems and help the patient and the GP with information transfer, decision making, and execution of the treatment and monitoring plan (Chapters 2, 5, and 6). Additionally, they provide support in other life domains, like household and work, when the patient experiences extra challenges because of MH problems. 30 The patient’s network can be informal, consisting of family and friends, and formal, consisting of professional caregivers from both the medical and the social domain, or both.In the UK guideline ‘MH Problems in People With Learning Disabilities: Prevention, Assessment and Management’ and in the Canadian guideline ‘Primary care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities’, particular attention is paid to the involvement of the patient’s network in the (mental) healthcare for patients with ID. 31, 32 In the Netherlands, the importance of involving the patient’s network is emphasized in the MH care guideline for individuals with MID33 and in support guidelines used in ID services. 34 These not only raises awareness, but also provides professionals with tools on how to involve the network in patient care. However, this aspect is currently lacking in the Dutch College of General Practitioners’ (NHG) guidelines on MH issues. Given that GPs often encounter patients with both MID and MH problems (Chapter 3) and that patients and GPs experience added value from an involved network (Chapters 5 and 6), it is worthwhile to include in the NHG guidelines the importance of the involvement of patients’ networks for this particular patient group.Strengthening patients’ networksWhen persons from the patient’s network are involved, it is not self-evident that they have the capacity, knowledge, and experience to provide the support needed on a practical and/or emotional level (Chapters 5 and 6). Family Katrien Pouls sHL.indd 167 24-06-2024 16:26