The document discusses several challenges facing the current healthcare workforce, including an aging workforce, insufficient future staff pipelines, high vacancy and sickness rates. It also summarizes key points from the NHS Ten Year Plan related to expanding and improving access to mental health services, developing the workforce, and establishing new models of primary and community mental health care. Some questions are raised about how to plan for the future workforce, including where services should be delivered, who will comprise the future mental health workforce, and how to embrace technology and generational issues.

1. The challenges of our current
workforce
Paula Roles
Christine Samosa
March 2019

2. What do we know about primary care
mental health services ?
• Demand for services is increasing
• Patient / user expectations are high
• Waiting lists are increasing
• Primary care staff are not always the most skilled to
deal with mental health issues

3. What do we know about our
workforce?
• We have an ageing workforce
• We don’t have a sufficient pipeline of staff for the future
especially in Learning disabilities and mental health
• We are not attracting people into health services and
specifically into this area of work
• Turnover rates are high
• Sickness levels are high
• Vacancy rates are high

4. The NHS Ten Year Plan –what does it say about
mental health services ?
• Increased physical health checks for people with severe mental health
problems.
• More support for people with a learning disability, autism or both in NHS
services.
• Improved access to specialist mental health support for rough sleepers.
• Improved identification of and support for carers:
• Improve mental health and wellbeing of the workforce. Increased access
to mental health services.
• Expanded access to community based mental health services.
• Improved awareness training, reasonable adjustments to services and
application of national standards for learning disability and autism.
• Continue to expand access to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
(IAPT).
• Clear standards for patients requiring access to community mental health
treatment.

5. • New and integrated models of primary and community mental health care.
• Expansion of services for people experiencing a mental health crisis with access to
24/7 community based services, single point of access, increase alternative forms
of provision, specific waiting times and improved training for ambulance services.
• By 2023/24, NHS 111 will be the single, universal point of access for people
experiencing mental health crisis. We will also increase alternative forms of
provision for those in crisis, including non-medical alternatives to A&E and
alternatives to inpatient admission in acute mental health pathways. Families and
staff who are bereaved by suicide will also have access to post-crisis support.
• By 2023/24, we will introduce mental health transport vehicles, introduce mental
health nurses in ambulance control rooms and build mental health competency of
ambulance staff to ensure that ambulance staff are trained and equipped to
respond effectively to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
• Mental health liaison services will be available in all acute hospital A&E
departments and 70% will be at ‘core 24’ standards in 2023/24, expanding to 100%
thereafter.

6. What should we be considering in planning for
the future workforce?…
• Where should services be delivered , who should be the
employers and who will be the mental health workforce of
the future?
• What would make MH/LD a career of choice ( first career,
career change)
• How can we embrace technology?
• How do we manage the generational issues of staff and service
users?