Social Work for Better Mental Health

Social Work for Better Mental Health Stephen T Chandler Director of Adult Services, Somerset County CouncilADASS Mental Health Policy Lead

Issues • History of long term relationships • Section 75s • LAs statutory duties – Care Act, AMPHs etc • Recruitment and retention • The role, functions and purpose of Mental Health Social Work • Structural and systematic approach to reviewing arrangements • 62 systems utilised the approach

Mental Health Social Work and Positive PartnershipsLearning from the Social Work for Better MH ProjectLyn Romeo Chief Social Worker for England DHSC

DHSC support for MH Social Work Social Work for Better Mental Health Project Supporting the Mental Health Workforce Supporting and Developing the AMHP role Developing the social model of care and MH social work in the NHS Encouraging the development of positive partnerships

Social Work for Better Mental Health • Launched in 2016 with a strategic statement, a self evaluation and the views of service users • Professional Leadership, staff opinions, organisational development all considered • 62 locations with social workers in integrated MH Trusts have completed the process • Learning about 20 years of integration in MH services - why organisations have struggled or succeeded, to create new partnership models & a new community of practice in MH.

The variety of integration & partnershipsSource: NHS Benchmarking

The challenges for integrated teams • Some Social Workers have told us: • A loss of professional identity • Difficulties in meeting regulation requirements • A lack of career opportunities • Unsupported by the LA commissioners/managers • Some LAs and MH Trusts have told us: • NHS priorities can take precedent over LA • ICS/STPs have mixed record on integration • Different cultures of the NHS and LA can be an issue

Overall Themes from SWBMH • NHS and LA organisations need to invest in senior leadership capacity • Some NHS Trusts have reduced board level SW representation. • There is a consistent problem of career progression and professional supervision for social workers in NHS Trusts, with reduced management capability, leadership training and succession planning • AMHP leadership is usually active and influential in the NHS • Councils are starting to take greater ownership of their responsibilities for oversight and support of SW • PSWs are influential in some areas – less so when only in LA. • Some LAs are removing Social Workers from Integrated teams due to need to implement the Care Act/MCA or strength based practice

The role of leadership • S75 arrangements or MOU need careful crafting and oversight • Collaborative leadership models across health and SC needed • Well defined professional leadership roles are vital to shape culture, supervision, collective leadership and ‘system coherence • Need critical mass of senior leaders and practice leadership with capacity to form a senior SW team • Very important that Councils actively ‘lean in’ to support SW authority and ‘own’ Trust lead posts

DHSC - office of the CSW: Repositioning social work within MH Clear leadership for SWs in integrated teams from LA or NHS Delivering the Care Act within CPA Redeveloping Community Models Working to the Social Determinates of MH Ensuring Social Work is within every aspect of MH service provision Promote social workers as lead professionals ensuring personalised, integrated care and support in MH settings Clarity between LA or NHS work Working with complexity, risk and conflict Working with safeguarding Working with families & communities in an asset based way to promote prevention and independence Supporting capacity and least restriction Ensuring that Social workers have the qualifications, knowledge, skills & supervision in MH A clear role and employee standards for SWs in the NHS Social Work with Adults - the National Perspective

Workforce Developments in the NHS • SW part of the MH workforce plan • SW is one of 8 MH ‘new roles’ task & finish groups • SW is part of the dashboard for STP/ICO partnerships to report on workforce developments • AMHP workforce plan, Standards and • competencies with SW England • Development of Forensic • ‘social supervision’ role

South London and Maudsley • Strategic improvement programme • Benefits of integration are optimised and that social care outcomes are delivered to a high standard • SWfBMH recommended “The approach to integration has strongly emphasised genericism in the context of care co-ordination. There is a need for greater role clarity and differentiation with regard to aspects of the mental health social work role to ensure the distinctive expertise of social work is given fuller expression”

What has the impact been ?

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Timing was right to embark on the SWfBMH programme…….. time for a fresh look at MH Services and how they link with the Local Authority Social Work support systems, priorities and process and to explore what was working well and what needed to improve. The sessions were skilfully facilitated and generated honest, challenging and positive responses………workshops were followed by Strategic meetings with Trust partners to disseminate the findings and jointly explore solutions.

East Riding of Yorkshire SWfBMH has significantly contributed to placing Mental Health into the 'centre' for discussion ……….. finally listening to the issues around the S75 and why it needed a radical rethink Through SWfBMH and the report ………finally, we are having real discussions around the future of our CMHT service and considering quite radical changes.

Essex The work was commissioned by our three Local Authority Partners, and from the outset an opportunity to engage and have dialogue with them on mental health social work. • A really effective tool to engage and open up honest and reflective conversations internally within the Trust, as well as between Trust and Local Authority partners regarding the role and value of mental health social work. • Positive engagement of the social work workforce…… they were engaged and co-produced the findings and recommendations through three key mechanisms a) Member of the project team; 2) Survey monkey; 3) Social Work Conference

Questions

Social Work for Better Mental Health