Background Single point of access meetings represent a critical juncture in the lives of mental health clients. The decision-making process undertaken by mental health professionals during this time is therefore crucial.
Method Glaserian grounded theory, with observations and interviews through theoretical sampling, was used to investigate the decision making of attendees.
Findings A basic social process named handling role boundaries emerged, consisting of four phases: recognising, positioning, weighing up and balancing.
Conclusion Handling role boundaries is an innovative, sociological theory that allows conceptual understanding to show how personality traits contribute to the discussions and decisions, as well as professional roles. These need to be managed effectively to make decisions in a limited time frame. Handling role boundaries explains how this is done in a local mental health trust.
