New Roles
Statement of importance
We need to recruit from a different pool of people if we are realistically to expand the workforce to the extent required.This may mean targeting people aged 25-60 who do not have GCSE’s and graduates, particularly in health and socialsciences. Many of these potential recruits do not want to enter the traditional professions, but with the appropriatetraining and supervision could take on important roles in services to support and release time from professionallyqualified staff based on an analysis of the capabilities required.
The disadvantages of strict adherence to traditional professional groupings are becoming more apparent and are exemplified by the blurring of roles for many professionals. Increasingly however, we are now beginning to move towards workforce planning based around the competencies required to deliver a service rather than numbers and particular professional groups of staff. There are a significant number of non affiliated staff working in generic children’s services and it can be seen that adult mental health have begun to take advantage of those from a variety of backgrounds and skills. Whilst some of these developments have occurred on an ad-hoc basis and for a variety of reasons it is likely that they will be increasingly driven by continued staff shortages. A further driving force for change will be the needs of children and young people. Generally it is of no concern to a young person which professional delivers care, provided they are appropriately trained. Consideration of potential new roles within CAMHS offers scope to fill identified gaps in the service with a practitioner with the required skills rather than by a particular professional grouping.
Notwithstanding these important considerations, the scope for harnessing the skills and enthusiasm of professionally non-affiliated people might have the potential to help to solve some of the significant problems with attracting sufficient numbers of people into the professions that constitute the mental health workforce.
The traditional, professionally affiliated specialist child and adolescent mental health workforce is, as discussed experiencing recruitment difficulties and the need for new roles and new ways of working is supported by representatives from across the workforce by professionals and by users and carers. If we are to realistically expand the workforce in CAMHS to the extent required we may need to recruit from a different pool of people than we have traditionally. Many of these potential recruits may not want to enter the traditional professions, but with the appropriate training and support could take on important roles in CAMHS to both offer support and release time to professionally qualified staff based on the capabilities required.
An exact definition of such staff is difficult but it embraces staff who do not belong to a recognised profession such as nursing, social work, medicine or occupational therapy etc. It would also include people whose job title may imply membership of a profession such as psychology assistant or occupational therapy assistant but who do not have the relevant professional qualification.
Challenges
- The capacity of commissioners and providers to review strategically their workforce to plan for new roles.
- The funding of new roles identified in the Policy and Planning Framework by PCTs and Local Authorities.
- Regulation and governance issues to be determined