London’s NHS Workforce: Regional Update Report
In light of the fact that the goal of the NHS Long Term Plan is to expand the psychological professions workforce in order to meet the demand for services, PPN London has been working to describe the current profile of the region, working with the Workforce Planning and Business Intelligence team within HEE.
Trauma-Informed Care in London
PPN London is currently working on a Task & Finish project to explore good practice in Trauma-Informed Care across the region. Trauma Informed Care is an approach to within services that makes the assumption that those seeking support are more like than not to have a history of trauma. For this reason, it is essential that the practices within the service promote safety, empowerment and the generate the potential for healing. We have been engaging with a range of services across London in order to highlight the key principles in addressing poor health outcomes from a trauma-informed perspective. Publication of an update paper is the preliminary goal of this working group, which is led by our consultants with lived experience.
Connected to this work-stream the London PPN is highlighting the work of the London Safety in Mental Health Settings (SiMHS) project, which is a learning improvement collaborative supported by the London Cavendish Square group, funded by NHSE&I and HEE to sponsor the reduction of incidents of violence and aggression in adult psychiatric in-patient settings. Developing Trauma-informed approaches via appreciative inquiry is a key element of this initiative.
Approved Clinicians (AC/RCs) in London
In line with the Mental Health Reform Act (and NHS implementation planning), a recent goal for NHS England/Improvement (NHSE/I) is to strengthen system readiness for the expansion of Multi-Disciplinary AC/RC roles. There is a national pilot project and regional management of implementation. An Approved Clinician (AC) is “a person approved by the appropriate national authority to act as an approved clinician for the purposes of the Mental Health Act” while a responsible clinician is the ‘Approved Clinician who has overall responsibility for a patient’s case. Some Responsible Clinicians are ‘recruited’ from a pool of Approved Clinicians. Responsible Clinicians are approved clinicians with overall responsibility for a case including such decisions as the renewal of detention or placement under a community treatment order.
With the support of the Associate Workforce Transformation Lead for the Mental Health Team in London, Natalie Moyanah, the region has forwarded applicants from multi-professional backgrounds (Nursing, Social Work, Occupational Therapy and Clinical Psychology) for the new course offered by University College London.
With follow-up for those who have already trained and are active in the region, the opportunity to develop a community of practice is in planning.
The Multi Professional Approved Responsible Clinician Implementation guide is embedded here:
pdf Multi-Professional Approved/Responsible Clinician: Implementation Guide (784 KB)
London Region: Developing Communities of Practice (COP)
If you are interested in setting a Community of Practice please contact: Julio Petalio via: