The National Mental Health Workforce Development Project has originated in response to the NHS Long Term Plan (2019) to improve mental health training in ambulance services. The HEE Mental Health Programme has allocated £150,000 to a Workforce Transformation Fund specifically to support development of ‘mental health crisis response capability’ from the ambulance workforce.
This funding was available to NHS ambulance training centres for the development of educational projects to improve knowledge and skills in relation to supporting patients with mental health needs.
The National Mental Health Workforce Development Project has been split into two phases. Phase one of the project involved the development of a 2.5-hour induction package covering a mandatory level of knowledge and skills to support patients in mental health crisis. This induction package is developed in line with the core skills competency framework for mental health and will complement the workstream developing dementia education.
The induction package has been developed to cover the needs of all patient contact roles, including, but not limited to call handlers, clinicians, dispatch, frontline emergency operational staff, patient transport service staff and corporate staff, where assessed as relevant. The induction package will be used by all new patient contact staff, by all ambulance trust education departments, and can be used for support services staff at the discretion of individual trusts. Existing staff can utilise the package to refresh and develop their skills and knowledge.
The induction package utilises multiple forms of media, such as animation, video, and audio exercises, as well as written materials and case studies in order to compliment all learning styles. In addition to the patient specific elements, there is also content aimed at staff building their own resilience and well-being, as the mental health of our staff is just as important as that of patients.
The induction package will be launched in September and will then be reviewed following staff feedback later in the year.
Phase two of the project is currently ongoing and involves the development of an interactive online repository of information. The repository will store and make available for future use, any materials created by the project for use across all ambulance Trusts in England and the devolved nations. This will include for example, conference presentations, E-learning packages, videos, case studies, personal reflective stories, and statistical data. The repository will also collect existing materials and research for use as part of CPD, research, to plan training sessions and for personal development.
A conference will be hosted on Thursday 27th October to launch both phases of the project, with expert speakers, workshops, and a play written by an Expert By Experience and performed by professional actors.
Throughout both phases of the National Mental Health Workforce Development Project there has been extensive input from both Experts By Profession and Experts By Experience to develop materials relevant to mental health in todays’ ambulance service. By making quality materials and information available to staff in an accessible format, we aim to improve staff knowledge and skills, improve patient care, and assist staff to build their own resilience and support their own mental wellbeing.
All members of staff are welcomed to complete a short questionnaire using the linked form below to help shape the content of the repository by hitting this link here.
