Tim Kendall explains more about why understanding how to implement new roles in practice in mental health services will support better delivery of care and new policies, discussing in particular the examples of psychological practitioners and peer support workers. Demonstrating why the New Roles in Mental Health Research Project led by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Trust is critical in helping NHS services to respond to the ongoing workforce crisis in mental health.
Background:
The National Health Service (NHS) is currently facing a workforce crisis, and mental health services have been hit the hardest, with a higher turnover of staff and more vacant positions than the rest of the NHS. To bolster the mental health workforce, a range of new roles, such as Nursing Associates, Physician Associates, and Peer Support Workers, have been created. However, introducing new roles in mental health teams often leads to disruption in how care is organised and delivered.
With £800,000 of funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), researchers from Sheffield University Management School (SUMS) and the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) will study how best to introduce new roles in mental health to strengthen and support the healthcare system as a whole, for the benefit of service users and those delivering care. The project, “New Roles, New Challenges: Understanding boundary work to support the implementation of new roles in mental health Trusts”, will take a novel approach to this challenge. The project will develop a model to understand the different types of new roles, why they are being introduced and how they impact on how care is delivered. This model will then be validated by NHS staff and service users, and will inform eight in-depth case studies across four NHS Trusts to understand how new roles can most effectively be introduced.
For more info on the project please see the website.
https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/new-roles-in-mental-health/home
Professor Tim Kendall, CBE, was NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health. He has been Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Visiting Professor at University College London. He has also been Medical Director at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust for many years, continuing his practise as Consultant Psychiatrist for the homeless in Sheffield. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Sheffield and a member of the External Advisory Board for the New Roles in Mental Health Research Project.
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