Learning organisations: a suitable model for improving mental health services?

Objective: The aim of this paper was to describe an organisational model that has created interest in recent business management literature as supporting learning, adaptation and continuous improvement.

Method: Some key features of the literature on learning organisations are outlined, including the values and processes involved, together with a structural and cultural template that has been applied to a community child and adolescent mental health service. Some blocks to learning and the leadership skills required to develop adaptive services are described.

Results: The experience of applying the model has led to a change in mental health service organisational structure and culture towards greater support for research, quality improvement, experimentation and adaptation.

Conclusions: The learning organisation model offers a more comprehensive framework for designing adaptive mental health services and supporting quality management practices than any other recent organisational form.