SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
124128	Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health
ORIGINATOR
Nelson Mandela University
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma	Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services		Curative Health
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	120	Not Applicable	NQF Level 08	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered		EXCO 0931/25	2025-04-17	2028-04-17
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2029-04-17		2032-04-17

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Purpose:
The purpose of the Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health qualification is to equip learners to specialise in mental health nursing and to build on the knowledge, experience, and skills that they have previously acquired to deal with mental health promotion and rehabilitation across patients' life spans. Learners will learn how to care for individual Mental Health Care Users (MHCU), families, groups, and communities. The benefits of completing this qualification will be that learners will be skilled to work in a variety of mental health facilities such as clinics, correctional services, general hospitals with a mental health care unit/ward, private hospitals, private practices and employee wellness practices.

The Mental Health Care Nursing addresses the mental health care needs of individuals, families, groups, and populations throughout the lifespan, inclusive of emerging vulnerable population groups. These specialists function at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The Mental Health Nurse will be professionally equipped to serve the community as a specialist mental health care practitioner in mental health establishments as well as the broader community. In addition, the Mental Health Nurse will be able to function independently with basic, intermediate, and advanced clinical competencies which are recognised both nationally and internationally in the mental health care environment. In the mental health facilities and the broader community, they will perform as independent, interdependent, and dependent mental health practitioners, leaders, and consultants in providing evidence-based care to patients, their families/ significant others, and the community, as set out by the relevant legislative frameworks.

This qualification will equip learners to specialise in mental health nursing and to build on the knowledge, experience, and skills that they have previously acquired to deal with mental health promotion and rehabilitation across patients' life spans. Learners will be skilled to work in a variety of mental health facilities such as clinics, correctional services, general hospitals with a mental health care unit/ward, private hospitals, private practices, and employee wellness practices.

Upon completing the qualification, learners will be able to:

Engage in expanding their knowledge of the nursing profession and the mental health care discipline.

Excel in both the art and science of the nursing profession as well as in the mental health care discipline.

Demonstrate awareness of the latest advances in technical competencies required by the nursing profession and the mental health care discipline.

Demonstrate an ability and commitment to ethical conduct, social awareness, and responsible citizenship.

Demonstrate the ability to anticipate and accommodate change, ambiguity, and differing views.

Demonstrate the ability to self-manage, including the ability to work autonomously, exercise initiative, and apply time management and organisational skills.

Demonstrate the capacity to sustain intellectual curiosity and a willingness to improve personal performance through self-reflection, the pursuit of lifelong learning, and the building of networks.

Demonstrate the ability to think creatively and to generate a range of innovative ideas that are appropriate to contexts of nursing and mental health care.

Demonstrate the ability to relate to and collaborate with others, either individuals or teams, and to exchange views and ideas to achieve desired outcomes.

Demonstrate the ability to articulate ideas and information confidently and coherently in visual, verbal, written and electronic forms to audiences of different sizes in a range of situations.

Rationale:
Data from the South African Stress and Health (SASH) study indicates that the lifetime prevalence for any common mental disorder is 30.3% in South Africa. It should be noted that there is a shortage of mental health practitioners in South Africa, with only 7.5 nurses attending to mental health per 100,000 of the population, 0.28 psychiatrists per 100,000, 0.32 psychologists per 100,000, 0,4 social workers and 0,13 occupational therapists in mental health care per 100,000 (World Health Organization).

According to the State of Provincial Healthcare System Spotlight on Eastern Cape Report, the Eastern Cape is facing "poor and undignified treatment of people with mental health problems". Across South Africa, and particularly in the Eastern Cape, mental health does not receive the recognition and attention it requires. According to a report by the South African Society for Psychiatrists, none of the provinces has "an organised community-based psychiatric service"; furthermore, Janse van Rensburg, SASOP president, noted that it is the Eastern Cape (together with Limpopo) which has the greatest lack of mental health resources. For instance, the Eastern Cape has "no child and adolescent services". This means that psychiatrists have to admit children and adolescents unlawfully into adult psychiatry wards. In addition, Janse van Rensburg stated that the Eastern Cape does not have enough general hospital beds for those admitted with acute psychiatric conditions and that the "inability to deal with aggressive behaviour by severely mentally ill people has resulted in long waiting lists for forensic psychiatric services".

Mehlwana and October (2021) accentuate in their opinion report that the Eastern Cape needs mental health services, gets mostly empty promises, and that not much has changed since what was presented by SASOP and Sukeri. The need remains for mental health reform to take place on various levels, and for that, mental health care nurses are needed. Further to this, Jane Cowely, Shadow MEC for Health, released the following statement on 6 August 2021 (Persistent shortages of critical Mental Health Professionals in Eastern Cape must be addressed), further supporting the need for mental health reform and the need for adequately skilled and trained mental health nurses: "The state of mental healthcare services in the Eastern Cape continues to decline, despite strong recommendations made in 2018 by the Health Ombudsman to ensure that Mental Health institutions in the province are effectively staffed and properly maintained". People with mental health disorders are being treated inhumanely and cruelly abandoned when they need help the most.

Mental health nurses attend to the mental health needs of individuals, families, groups and communities. They function at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and are skilled to work independently using basic, intermediate and advanced clinical competencies. Mental health nurses can take the lead in clinical situations and act as consultants to provide evidence-based care to patients, their families and communities based on relevant legislation. It is imperative to provide a qualification for mental health nurses that will eradicate the shortage of care in this healthcare domain.

Nurses who complete a Bachelor of Nursing Degree are only exposed to minimal theoretical and practical mental health nursing. Their basic education and training do not supply them with adequate exposure to care for high-risk mental health care users or mental health care users who need more advanced care, hence the need for this qualification to bridge the gap.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
Recognition of prior learning and transfers between nursing education institutions
Learners may apply for RPL or admission or credit accumulation and transfer (CAT) in accordance with institutional, departmental and SANC policies on RPL and transfer when appropriate.

Criteria for this qualification:
Learners may be required to write an entrance examination, provide a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) or take an oral examination before being considered for selection. The final selection will be compliant with criteria approved by the Faculty Management Committee (FMC) and institutional and departmental rules.
Admission is subject to departmental selection, which includes an interview as well as a satisfactory medical report.

RPL for access:
To widen the access for learners to this qualification, lenient admission criteria were set. For example, the selection criteria were set that prospective learners should have a minimum of two (2) years of experience as a Professional Nurse and/or Midwife, which includes only two (2) years of experience in the mental health nursing field as the minimum requirement. It is, however, to the student's advantage to have more experience in the mental health field, but it was waivered to increase access.

The institution's RPL policy will be used to guide the application of RPL into this programme to ensure fairness and accessibility. Furthermore, targeted marketing strategies will be employed to ensure that the access to the programme is promoted to include a diverse group of students.

According to the SANC (2009):
The RPL role of the ETQA and NEIs
The South African Nursing Council (SANC), as the professional regulatory body of nursing in South Africa, must ensure that persons admitted to the nursing profession are skilled and knowledgeable practitioners who are competent to provide quality and safe nursing care in South Africa. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accredited SANC as the Education and Training Quality Assurance (ETQA) for institutions that provide nursing education and training, and, as such, SANC must ensure that its accredited providers implement credible RPL systems that do not compromise the integrity of nursing education and training.

SANC's role regarding RPL
As the ETQA of Nursing Education Institutions (NEIs) in South Africa, SANC is required to evaluate the assessment practices of constituent providers to ensure that the core criteria in terms of quality assurance regarding RPL assessments are met by providers. Register constituent assessors and moderators; and facilitate credible moderation of assessment.

Credits:
In terms of the acquisition of credits, several fundamental considerations must be emphasised to ensure the success of RPL, namely: RPL assessment can either be conducted against a whole qualification or part thereof. In the nursing profession, the latter option is more realistic. This will also be influenced by the inherent rules and policies of educational institutions. The assessment of achievement of learning outcomes should be conducted by registered assessors and moderation by certified/registered moderators. The assessment should be conducted against approved outcomes, i.e., registered unit standards/qualification or level outcomes.

The assessment should balance theory and practical requirements of the desired outcomes. Credits awarded must be related to learning acquired through an experience and not for the experience itself or the duration thereof, since not all experience yields meaningful learning; and Assessment should be individualised, as no experience will yield the same learning for different people. This is one of the serious challenges in the assessment of RPL.

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is:

Advanced Diploma in Occupational Health Nursing, NQF Level 7.
Or

Advanced Diploma in Health Management, NQF Level 7.
Or

Bachelor of Health Sciences, NQF Level 7.
Or

Bachelor of Nursing, NQF Level 7.
And

A minimum of two years' experience as a nurse, including community service experience.

Registration with SANC as a Nurse and Midwife/General Nurse with Midwifery/Professional Nurse and Midwife.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at NQF Level 8, totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 120 Credits.

Aspects of Mental Health Nursing, 20 Credits.

Mental Health Nursing Interventions, 25 Credits.

Mental Health Nursing Practical, 40 Credits.

Professional Practice for the Nurse, 25 Credits.

Integration of Professional Practice, for the Nurse Specialist - mental health nursing, 10 Credits.

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Practice and facilitate specialist mental health nursing within ethical-legal parameters of the profession.
2. Apply and facilitate evidence-based practice in the mental health field to solve contextual problems and develop policies and guidelines.
3. Appraise and develop self, peers and nurse specialist learners by facilitating self-directedness/leadership and lifelong learning to maintain competence.
4. Facilitate advocacy for the profession and provision of specialist mental health professional support for personnel, mental health care users, families, and communities.
5. Engage in planning, commissioning, and managing a mental health specialist unit.
6. Engage in scholarly activities to inform evidence-based practice.
7. Utilise, manage, and communicate data to support decision-making and research.
8. Render and coordinate user-centred specialist nursing practice within a continuum of care, using the scientific approach integrating biomedical and psychosocial sciences, including advanced pharmacology.
9. Collaborate with the inter- and intra-professional team by engaging in health dialogue, shared leadership, decision-making and shared clinical judgement related to mental health nursing.
10. Participate in the design, development and evaluation of nursing policies, qualifications, and projects at a provincial or national level.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

Apply critical decision-making and moral reasoning models and principles to make clinical judgements and resolve ethical dilemmas within the mental health specialist practice.

Illustrate accountability for own professional judgement, actions, and outcomes of specialist mental care, provided and continued competence.

Identify and apply the relevant current legislation, policies, regulations, and guidelines pertaining to specialist mental health nursing practice.

Document all care activities accurately, comprehensively, and timeously, considering the legal requirements for record keeping.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

Engage in mental health specialist practice and show understanding of the process of evidence-based practice.

Apply evidence-based mental health specialist practice, taking into consideration the appropriate methodology of gathering evidence for practice, for example, systematic or scoping reviews, appraisal of articles, practice-based research, and publication.

Apply critical analysis at various levels of evidence-based practice mental health nursing.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

Illustrate leadership skills through application of appropriate leadership styles, principles and theories of health services management.

Facilitate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for self and others for lifelong learning by creating a positive learning climate in the mental health care units through the processes of mentorship, preceptorship, supervision, and performance appraisal.

Engage in performance appraisal and demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and processes of the performance management and development system.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

Illustrate the purpose of the advocacy role for a mental health nurse specialist.

Apply advocacy principles to ensure safe and quality care/in various mental health care settings.

Apply appropriate communication skills and channels in facilitating advocacy.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:

Commission tasks taking into consideration the burden of diseases and priority services as determined by current events.

Evaluate the existing mental health specialist unit appropriately.

Apply knowledge of guidelines for provisioning a specialist unit.

Plan and commission appropriately within the inter- and intra-professional team to demonstrate the role and responsibilities associated with the task.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:

Apply appropriate methods to generate evidence for utilisation in specialist practice (e.g. research, systematic reviews).

Apply peer-reviewed journals in mental health and other relevant fields of healthcare, including the sharing of evidence.

Properly present inter- and intra-professional dialogues, debates or discourses in quality improvement.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:

Document all data/information gathered in the context of the mental health nursing specialist practice for utilisation and storage in accordance with the set standards.

Utilise comprehensive data, information, and emerging evidence pertinent to mental health nursing specialist practice.

Identify problems, diagnoses and opportunities for improvement based on gathered and critically analysed assessment data from the mental health care users, families, communities, learners, or employees, including current scientific evidence.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8:

Render specialist care that integrates promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care in the mental health care continuum.

Formulate nursing diagnoses that are congruent with the mental health care users' clinical manifestations/data and are based on accurate analysis and interpretation of data obtained from scientific, laboratory, diagnostic, technological and psycho-sociocultural assessment, including consultation of relevant/current literature/evidence.

Plan individualized nursing interventions that consider the mental health care user's needs, values, beliefs, preferences, culture, and contextual variables, for example, disease burden, health risks, national priorities, etc.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 9:

Collaboratively solve practice problems that are informed by decisions and sound clinical judgement in the mental health specialist area.

Seek and provide consultation appropriately and timeously in the provision of holistic care in the mental health care continuum through awareness of one's competence.

Appropriately and timeously carry out mental health care referrals as dictated by the mental health care user's condition and in accordance with the referral guidelines.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 10:

Participate and understand the processes in the development of policies, qualifications and projects

Participate in project and policy development and responsibilities within the inter- and intra-professional policy/project team.

Advocate for the nursing profession and mental health care users, families, and communities in the mental health care specialist area.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
Professional Practice for the Nurse Specialist (Generic module)
Assessment methods and moderation:
Learners will be tasked with formal assignments to prepare in the periods between blocks, which will include:

seminars

essay writing on appropriate topics

completion of workbooks.

Formative assessment is used as a learning tool to assist students in enhancing their learning and developing assessment literacy.

Summative assessment is conducted with rigour, integrity and fairness through consistently applying rules, procedures and good practices. The main use of summative assessment is a culminating examination at the end of a module, but tests and assignments that are awarded grades during a module are also summative in nature.

Continuous assessment represents a further form of summative assessment. It is characterised as being a connected, coherent assessment system in which evidence that the learning outcomes have been achieved is judged by performance in various assessment activities across the duration of a module, but there is not a final examination.

Internal and external moderation:
As all the modules are core, each module will be externally moderated.

The continuous assessment course work component cumulative class mark comprises 100 per cent of the final mark. Assessments to generate the class mark consist of at least 6 assessments, comprising, for example, of individual tests, group presentations and group assignments.

Knowledge outcomes of the two modules will be assessed principally through examinations and class tests, which require learners to demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts, their use and application.

The examination course work component cumulative class mark comprises 50 per cent of the final mark. Assessments to generate the class mark consist of individual tests, group presentations and group assignments. A final, summative examination upon completion of the module will contribute 50% to the final mark.

All summative assessments will be externally moderated, and the following process will be followed:
Pre-assessment Moderation Phase:
The final assessment instrument, assessment tool and reporting instrument are presented to the moderator for the pre-moderation phase. The moderator provides feedback in the form of a pre-assessment moderation report indicating changes needed and requesting clarification if needed. The assessor acts on the moderator's report and brings about the necessary changes. The changed documents are presented for verification by the moderator. The moderator confirms whether the documents are in order via a final consent form.

Post-assessment Moderation Phase:
The assessment evidence (examination scripts/assignments/projects/portfolios) with the final assessment instrument, assessment tool and completed reporting instrument is sent to the moderator via the examination administration office. The moderator moderates a minimum of 20 or at least 10% of the total number of assessment evidence as selected by the moderator.

The moderator provides feedback in the form of a post-assessment moderation report indicating changes needed in the assessments or the adjustment of marks and requesting clarification if needed. The assessor acts on the moderator's report and brings about the necessary changes. The changed reporting instrument and the moderators report are presented to the programme leader for verification. The final reporting instrument and the moderator's report serve at FMC for approval.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

Country: Australia
Institution name: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Qualification title: Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing
Duration: One year

Admission requirements

An Australian bachelor's degree in nursing or equivalent
Or

An Australian bachelor's degree in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, or equivalent
AND

Current registration or be eligible for registration as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
AND

840 hours of supervised clinical practice already completed in the field of mental health nursing OR you are completing this as part of a graduate year program in mental health nursing or supervised practice during the candidature

Purpose:
The Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing is a core requirement that can be used in application to be credentialed by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, which will allow learners to practice as a recognised Mental Health Nurse. Upon graduation, learners will be able to access a Graduate Diploma allowance under the Victorian Public Mental Health Nurses award and seek promotional positions that require this qualification.

This qualification is designed to provide learners with up-to-date knowledge and practical experience. Because it's developed with current industry practitioners, it will also give learners the skills to extend their work-ready abilities and professional experience.

Qualification outcomes:

Critically analyse the impact of ideological and political discourses on the development of Australian healthcare policies and practices

Critically analyse the impact of changing technologies on clinical practice

Conceptualise future directions in healthcare policies and practices.

Explore the nature and implications of moral and legal accountability, responsibility, and liability in professional practice.

Discuss the nature and implications of human rights and social justice considerations in healthcare domains.

Examine critically key ethical and legal issues relevant to professional healthcare practice in institutional and community-based settings.

Qualification structure:
Modules:

Foundations of Mental Health Nursing Partnerships

Context of Mental Health Nursing, comparable to Aspects of Mental Health Nursing

Therapeutic Initiatives in Mental Health, comparable to Mental Health Nursing Interventions

Dual Diagnosis and Community Work

Mental Health Nursing Clinical Portfolio

Assessment Analysis in Mental Health Nursing

Health Inquiry Critique

Assessment approach:
Learners will undertake a range of learning activities, which include online learning, face-to-face lectures, tutorial sessions and multi-disciplinary teamwork. All lectures are video-recorded to enhance the flexible, multimode (on-campus or external) delivery of this program. Learning activities in real-world contexts and situations will enable you to synthesise theory and knowledge with your clinical practice.

Similarities:

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and the South African (SA) qualifications are both offered to learners who have completed a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Both qualifications are offered over one year.

The SA qualification's learners will learn how to care for individual mental health care users, families, groups, and communities and will be skilled to work in a variety of mental health facilities.

Similarly, the RMIT qualification is designed to provide learners with up-to-date knowledge and practical experience and will also give learners the skills to extend their work-ready abilities and professional experience.

Both qualifications share similar modules, such as Context of Mental Health Nursing, Aspects of Mental Health Nursing, Therapeutic Initiatives in Mental Health and Mental Health Nursing Interventions.

Difference:

The elective content is not included in the SA qualification.

Country: United Kingdom
Institution name: University of West London
Qualification name: PgDip Nursing (Mental Health)
Duration: Two years

Entry requirements:

A first degree at grade 2:2 or above in any subject
Or

GCSE English and Mathematics (grade 9 - 4/A - C) or Level 2 equivalents

Purpose:
In this mental health nursing qualification, learners will learn how to assess, plan, promote and support a person's recovery, facilitating their involvement and enhancing their level of control (recovery-focused approach). Importantly, learners will also learn how to support clients' physical health needs. Learners will learn how to deliver care to the new standards set by the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). The aim is to equip you with the clinical skills and evidence-based knowledge you need to face the challenges of modern mental health nursing. This qualification has been developed with input from learners, service users and our partners in the NHS and voluntary and independent sectors. Your studies will help you to gain the skills and experience you need to start your nursing career upon graduation.

Qualification outcomes:

Provide, lead and coordinate care that is compassionate and evidence-based for people with complex mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural care needs.

Care for people in healthcare settings, including their own home, in the community and hospital.

Help promote health, protect health and prevent ill health.

Empower people, communities, and populations to take control of their own health decisions and behaviours.

Care for people of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs.

Qualification structure
Compulsory modules:

Sciences underpinning Evidence-Based Nursing Practice,

Promoting Health and Preventing Ill Health

Delivering Person-Centred Care

Part 1 Nursing Practice, comparable to Mental Health Nursing Practical.

Similarities:

The University of West London (UWL) and the South African (SA) qualifications both accept learners who have completed a bachelor's degree.

The SA qualification will equip learners to specialise in mental health nursing and to build on the knowledge, experience, and skills that they have previously acquired to deal with mental health promotion and rehabilitation across patients' life spans.

The UWL qualification's learners will also learn how to support clients' physical health needs.

Both qualifications include practical training.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Horizontal Articulation:

Bachelor of Nursing, NQF Level 8.

Vertical Articulation:

Master of Nursing, NQF Level 9.

Master of Philosophy in Community Mental Health, NQF Level 9.

Master of Social Science (Community Mental Health Promotion), NQF Level 9.

Master of Philosophy in Liaison Mental Health, NQF Level 9.

Master of Philosophy in Public Mental Health, NQF Level 9.

Diagonal Articulation
There is no diagonal articulation for this qualification.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

N/A

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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