Developing the workforce for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities

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Developing the workforce for Mental Health and
Learning Disabilities

• The associate practitioner role

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St Georges Health and Social Care NHS Trust
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About us....

• St Georges is positive about providing mental
  health and learning disability services.  
• Over 6,000 dedicated staff provide these services
  in a variety of settings, ranging from the
  community through to acute wards, as well as
  secure settings. The Trust also manages two
  medium secure units, Wheatfield and Barleycorn
  Hospitals 
• We will continually improve our services and our
  patient, service user and carer experience, as
  well as reducing the stigma associated with
  mental illness and learning disabilities.
• We are committed to being recognised as the
  leading provider for mental health and learning
  disability services locally relevant, national
  important.

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What's Going on?

• Newly integrated health and social care trust
• Applying for Foundation Trust Status
• Review of all service divisions
• Integration of services with Local Authority for
  community provision

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Our services

• The services provided by St Georges Health Care
  are delivered by our Local Services Division and
  our Forensic Division.
• The Local Services Division is responsible for
  services provided in the community and acute
  settings. The Forensic Services Division is
  responsible for providing services to people in
  contact with forensic services.
• Local Services Division                           
          
• Adult Mental Health Services                      
          
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Mental Health Services for Older
  People                       
• Learning Disability Services                      
             
• Drug and Alcohol Services

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Local Services division review

• Meeting service user need
• Policy and business plans
• Workforce planning
• Reconfiguring service provision

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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

• Vacancies and service user need
• Workforce data- shows that we had several
  vacancies some nursing and some health care
  assistants
• Identifying the role social inclusion a key
  driver for the community division of this
  Trust-implementing policy Darzi, Valuing
  people, pathways and packages

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The role of the Associate practitioner- generic

• JOB PURPOSE
• To deliver high level, quality care and evidence
  based interventions within a multi-disciplinary
  team.
• To work collaboratively across a range of
  disciplines, developing knowledge and expertise
  to enable them to perform non complex, protocol
  limited, clinical tasks with minimal supervision
• To supervise/support identified healthcare
  assistants

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The role of the health care navigator
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How the role works

• Specific training
• Working to a prescribed competency framework
• Has own case load
• Clear lines of reporting
• Supervision in place
• Protocols developed and in place

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Where can they work?

• Adult Mental Health Services                      
          
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Mental Health Services for Older
  People                       
• Learning Disability Services                      
             
• Drug and Alcohol Services

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Johns story

• John came to work at St Georges when he was 25,
  he had never really considered care as a career
  but saw a vacancy for a community health care
  assistant. He was happy working with the team
  delivering direct care and helping elderly people
  with mental health problems. The opportunity
  arose to become one of the new health care
  navigators, John jumped at the chance, he had
  already undertaken an NVQ 3 and was near to
  completing level 2 in maths and English,
  supported by St Georges, through the local FE so
  he had had a taste of learning. He began to work
  with his own caseload and developed a network of
  services to provide access for the people in his
  care. An example of this is Iris, an older lady
  with severe dementia, John has learned the
  importance of monitoring Iriss health, he looks
  after her medication and is aware that she tends
  to get kidney problems when she dehydrates so
  John makes sure Iriss husband knows she needs to
  drink lots of water. With the case manager John
  has been able to negotiate some day care. John
  implements the memory therapy that has been
  recommended by the specialist services and
  ensures continuity from home to day services.
  John also ensures that the care provided by the
  home care agency really meets Iriss needs. He
  ensures she is safe and that her husband is
  managing well. John is now nearing the end of a
  Foundation degree and sees himself staying in the
  role for quite some time but he knows he can go
  on to further training in the future.

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How can we develop the model for West Yorkshire

• SHA Project on Mental Health and Learning
  disabilities workforce planning
• SHA modernisation work-stream
• Workforce development -associate practitioner
  toolkit
• Partnership with service users
• Partnership with education
• Support for development of the competency
  framework and implementation of the role

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Does it fit with WYLLN Priorities?