Workforce

The Mental Health workforce workstream is part of the Yorkshire & Humber Improvement Partnership (YHIP) Mental Health Programme.  The aim of the workforce workstream is to work across all the mental health worksteams to support the development of a workforce that has the appropriate skills, competencies and values to deliver needs led, flexible and recovery focused services. Central to the delivery of the workforce programme is partnership working with providers, commissioners and service users and carers.

The key priorities for the workforce workstream in 2009 – 2010 are:

Learning and Development

  • To Improve the knowledge and skills of the mental health workforce through increased implementation and integration of the 10 Essential shared capabilities via regional workshops, New Ways of working focused implementation projects and service user and carer action learning sets.
  • To support the development and implementation of CPA care coordination skills and competencies via  regional workshops and share and spread events

New Ways of Working (NWW) & Creating Capable Teams Approach (CCTA)

To Increase awareness and implementation of NWW and support the development of cost effective, needs led services via:

  • Delivering two focused implementation projects (FIP) one in NY&Y PCT and one in Leeds MHFT.  Each FIP team will undertake 5 workshops from June – November, which will include an introduction to NWW, 10 ESC and the CCTA.  The results of which will be shared via summary reports and a regional event.
  • The delivery of CCTA facilitators workshops and the maintenance of an electronic network to ensure the development of skills and capacity across the patch
  • The delivery of NWW Action learning sets for service users and carers the results of which will be shared via a summary report, full report and regional share and spread eve

New Roles

To contribute to the regional agenda for improved introduction and integration of a range of new roles that provide flexible recovery focused services such as: Support Time and Recovery workers, Community development workers, Associate practitioners and Mental health act new roles.

  • To maintain an electronic network and facilitate an annual STR convention to support the ongoing development and integration of the role. A comprehensive report from the event held of the 3rd March is available on the YHIP resources page and a further event will be arranged for 2010.
  • To provide expertise and capacity to support the Yorkshire and Humber workforce development project which is exploring the implementation of the associate practitioner role.
  • To work in partnership with MHA lead and IAPT lead to support development and introduction of New roles associated with that worksteams.

Updates/forthcoming events/news/latest documents

National Workforce Programme: The NIMHE National Workforce Programme finished on the 31st March however the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, supported by the new National Mental Health Development Unit now facilitates a National Steering Group for Workforce. The NWP produced a number of final products details of which can be found on the NWW update.

NWW Action Learning Sets for Service users and carers: From December 2008 to April 2009 a series of 5 NWW action learning sets (ALS) where held for service users and carers.  The ALS ran over a 18 week period and were attended by 13 participants from 7 provider organisations across the patch
Feedback throughout the process was very positive both from the attendees and mentors and many attendees are now actively involved and engaged in the development of services within their organisation.
A summary report and  a comprehensive report have been produced and further work is underway to idenitfy how we can further develop this approach to support other service users and carers.

Regional Contact: Nicki Hollingsworth, Mental Health Workforce Lead (YHIP), nicki.hollingsworth@yhip.org.uk,  07818046431