Children and young people - community mental health and wellbeing: supports and services framework

Workforce

53. Supports and services should be delivered by people with the right knowledge, skills and experience, and the workforce should be appropriately supported and resourced. Ensuring safe and effective person-centred practice requires several elements to be in place in terms of workforce capacity and capability.

54. Important within these will be a co-ordinated system to provide quick assessment of need and access to staff with the relevant skills. The workforce involves both public sector and third sector staff, as a considerable amount of community-based support is provided through third sector organisations.

55. Local partnerships should ensure engagement with the CAMHS workforce to consider what additional capacity it can provide to support delivery of these supports and services, in line with the GIRFEC approach.

56. Specific knowledge and skills targeted at mental health and wellbeing needs and outcomes are required across sectors and disciplines in line with the following four levels of practice transcending sector disciplines and professions:

Informed

All staff working in health, social care and third sector settings

Skilled

Staff who have direct and/or substantial contact with infants, children, young people and their families

Enhanced

Staff who have more regular and intense contact with infants, children, young people and their families, who are at risk of or are experiencing mental health and wellbeing concerns

Specialist

Staff who, by virtue of their role and practice setting, provide an expert specialist role in the assessment, care, treatment and support of infants, children, young people and their families, who are at risk of or experiencing mental health and wellbeing concerns

57. It is expected that most workers in community-based support will be practising at the skilled and enhanced levels, providing relationship and listening-based supports and services, with support from CAMHS staff as required. Health visitors, midwives, school and family nurses should also be well integrated into the system of community wellbeing support.

58. All staff working across the four levels should themselves be supported and able to work safely. Priority should be given to staff wellbeing and ensuring that there are appropriate reflective practices or supervision structures to support staff to deliver safe, high quality, evidence-based, relational approaches while maintaining their own resilience and wellbeing. Key to supporting the workforce is having the right training and development in place.

59. CAMHS teams should support both universal and additional services for children and young people, including community-based support, by providing consultation, advice and training, and supervision where appropriate of those staff providing psychological interventions. Children, young people and their families who are supported in CAMHS should also have access to support provided in universal and additional services where appropriate.

60. All staff working in the supports and services should be confident in utilising a rights-based approach and trauma-informed practice, informed by relevant training and resources such as those offered by NHS Education for Scotland.