new worker, The

Mental Health Nursing,  Nov 2003  by Rushforth, David

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Three years on from the National Plan (2000), we are witnessing the first tangible signs of new investment in the mental health workforce, as Department of Health funding paves the way for local employment and training initiatives to bolster the hard-pressed mental health professionals.

The new year will see the first wave Support, Time Recovery (STR) workers in post with a target of 3000 people employed across a mix of statutory and voluntary sector collaborations. In addition, primary care trusts are currently recruiting graduate workers and 1000 people will undertake post-graduate certificate training on their appointment in order to prepare them for working in primary care settings. A further 500 community development workers are also in the pipeline to specifically support the mental health needs of ethnic and disadvantaged groups. Current workforce numbers are at an all time low and vacancies in some trusts are proving almost impossible to fill.

But the cynics variously dismiss the new arrivals as a 'poor fit', a 'quick fix' or an elaborate 're-badging' exercise, which will not increase staffing levels. The conspiracy theorists view these initiatives as evidence of a systematic attempt to casualise the mental health workforce.

There remains much to be done to dispel these fears. Perhaps we can agree, at the very least, that the current workforce numbers are unacceptably low and this is impacting negatively on staff morale and standards of care.

The commitment to expanding mental health nursing student numbers is the most visible riposte to the conspiracy theorists. This is an expensive long term investment. We are perhaps three years into a 10 year recovery plan here.

Investing new money to support existing services is a necessary short term imperative. Far too many vulnerable people are at risk of relapsing, bereft of support in their homes.

The brief solution-focused training for the graduate workers offers an alternative way forward. They have potentially much more to offer. These new workers need a warm welcome and sensitive support in the workplace. Their training will improve their skills of engaging users and carers, foster independence and aim to bring greater stability to peoples' home lives and social circumstances.

Mental health nurses are pivotal to the successful integration of these non-aligned workers. In the short-term, this may be through their enabling skills as practice mentors, case managers or clinical supervisor and, in the longer-term, as role models for these new workers.

We need these people to stay, and for those seeking a career, encouragement to go onto further study for mental health professional qualifications.

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Nov 2003
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