Professor Gavin Davidson, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast.
This presentation is relevant to the proposed Safe and Effective Staffing Bill. It summarises key findings from a series of written reports based on five academic research projects examining mental health social work in Northern Ireland; projects that were commissioned by the Office of Social Services. To help inform discussion about the proposed Bill, it highlights:
- Ten aspects of the distinctive contribution of social work to promoting and supporting mental health;
- A methodology for providing an estimate of the number of Approved Social Workers (ASWs) who are specially trained to fulfil statutory duties under mental health and mental capacity law and are needed in each Trust to help inform ASWs workforce planning;
- Findings of a rapid literature review of the literature concerning workforce planning for mental health social work;
- Data collection in 2022 from the Health and Social Care Trusts regarding their current staffing, structures and activities;
- Findings of a rapid literature review on safe staffing in mental health social work;
- Key points arising from an exploration of the context for safe staffing in this area of practice and potential approaches and tools for caseload weighting and management; and,
- Findings from a series of interviews and focus groups on safe staffing in mental health social work.
Downloads:
Policy Briefing
Presentation
Video will be forthcoming