01.07.15
NHS England launches safe staffing framework for mental health wards
NHS England has launched a new safe staffing framework for inpatient mental health wards to ensure the right number of staff with the right skills are in place.
It follows the revelation at the NHS Confederation Annual Conference earlier this month that NHS England would take over the safe staffing work that was previously being carried out by NICE.
The news was met with dismay from several corners of the NHS, with the Royal College of Nursing condemning the decision.
“Make no mistake – taking NICE out of the equation is a backwards step. After years of fighting for patients, nursing staff finally had an assurance that staffing levels would be taken seriously, and set by an independent organisation, using thorough, transparent research,” said Dr Peter Carter, RCN general secretary.
The framework released today was actually commissioned before the remit for the programme was changed.
NHS England said it will produce further guidance for mental health wards as part of its new responsibility for safe staffing later on this year, which will be led by its Mental Health Taskforce.
The framework released today, which was carried out by an independent group of nursing directors, will feed into any future work.
Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer for England, said: “There is a clear absence of best practice guidance available for mental health staffing at the moment, which is why this newly developed framework is so important.
“Staffing requirements for mental health wards are completely different to a regular inpatient ward. The focus is obviously more on psychological than physical care, but reactive and unplanned interventions are also more common, people stay for longer and higher percentage of people are detained rather than there by choice.
“Developed by nurses for mental health leaders, the framework aims to ensure that mental health inpatient wards have the right staffing level for their specific needs.
“This is just one component of a significant ongoing programme of work that NHS England and its partners are undertaking to ensure the NHS is safely staffed with the right people, with the right skills.”
The framework says there are wide variations in both the costs and levels of staff recorded in inpatient settings, and notes that deficits in qualified staff may be contributing to the variation in money spent.
It also found higher numbers of qualified staff were associated with reduced levels of aggression among patients.
Included in the framework is a review of two workforce calculator tools a checklist for lead clinicians to present to their board to ensure the wider organisation understands the differences in providing safe staffing on mental health wards compared to other settings.
It also provides advice on how mental health service leaders can carry out a review of their workforce planning.
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