Mental Health Officers(MHO) survey, Scotland 2011-12
This survey collects information about the number of qualified MHOs who are practising within Scotland.
4. Specialist and Non-specialist Mental Health Teams
The MHO workforce is split between specialist or non-specialist Mental Health (MH) teams, this section of the report looks at the field team on which a MHO works in more detail.
4.1 MHOs in specialist MH teams
Table 12 shows that the number of MHOs working in specialist MH teams has been increasing steadily since 2008, when there were 352 MHOs. In 2012 this figure has increased by 9.1% to 384 MHOs. Of these 384 MHOs the majority (45.1%) work in Community MH Teams, whilst only 4.9% in 2012 worked in old age/dementia teams.
Table 13 shows the WTE's of the MHOs working in specialist MH teams, the percentage splits across the teams are similar to those in table 12. The 384 MHOs have a WTE of 350.14, giving an average of 0.91 WTE per MHO, compared to 0.93 in 2011.
Figure 6: MHOs by specialist MH teams, 2012
1Includes Child & adolescent MH teams due to concealment of small numbers.
Table 12: Number of MHOs by specialist MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| Number of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Community MH Teams (multidisciplinary)2,3 | 182 | 197.5 | 205.33 | 201 | 173 | 51.7% | 54.0% | 53.9% | 52.5% | 45.1% |
| Specialist social work MH teams3 | 76 | 74 | 106.83 | 77 | 90 | 21.6% | 20.2% | 28.0% | 20.1% | 23.4% |
| Old age psychiatry teams / Dementia teams2,3 | 12 | 17.5 | 17.34 | 21 | 19 | 3.4% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 4.9% |
| Managerial across several teams | 15 | 29 | 25 | 28 | 33 | 4.3% | 7.9% | 6.6% | 7.3% | 8.6% |
| Other specialist MH teams1,3 | 67 | 48 | 26.5 | 56.5 | 69 | 19.0% | 13.1% | 7.0% | 14.8% | 18.0% |
| Total | 352 | 366 | 381 | 383 | 384 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes Child & adolescent MH teams due to concealment of small numbers.
2In 2009, a MHO splits working between teams.
3In 2010, a number of MHOs split working between teams.
Table 13: WTE of MHOs by specialist MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| WTE of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Community MH Teams (multidisciplinary) | 167.80 | 186.50 | 192.43 | 186.80 | 158.27 | 51.6% | 53.8% | 53.6% | 52.4% | 45.2% |
| Specialist social work MH teams | 70.40 | 68.14 | 102.13 | 71.70 | 80.78 | 21.7% | 19.7% | 28.5% | 20.1% | 23.1% |
| Old age psychiatry teams / Dementia teams | 10.80 | 17.00 | 16.14 | 18.30 | 16.90 | 3.3% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Managerial across several teams | 14.60 | 28.80 | 24.80 | 27.50 | 32.20 | 4.5% | 8.3% | 6.9% | 7.7% | 9.2% |
| Other specialist MH teams1 | 61.36 | 45.97 | 23.40 | 52.45 | 61.99 | 18.9% | 13.3% | 6.5% | 14.7% | 17.7% |
| Total | 324.96 | 346.41 | 358.90 | 356.75 | 350.14 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes Child & adolescent MH teams due to concealment of small numbers.
4.2 MHOs in non-specialist MH teams
Table 14 shows that the number of MHOs working in non-specialist MH teams has decreased in 2012, when there were 304 MHOs compared to 345 MHOs in 2010 and 2011. Of these 304 MHOs the majority (33.1%) work in Community care Teams, whilst only 3.9% work in Generic teams.
Table 15 shows the WTE's of the MHOs working in non-specialist MH teams, the percentage splits across the teams are very similar to those in table 14. The 304 MHOs have a WTE of 285.3, giving an average of 0.94 WTE per MHO, compared to 0.96 in 2011.
A very rough estimate shows that on average MHOs working on non-specialist teams spent 5.64 hours in 2012 on MHO work, this compares to 6.57 hours in 2011 (refer to Table 16). These figures have only been collected since 2008 and not all Local Authorities are able to provide a figure.
Figure 7: MHOs by non-specialist MH teams, 2012
1Includes Intake teams & Physical & sensory disability teams due to concealment of small numbers.
Table 14: Number of MHOs by non-specialist MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| Number of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Generic teams | 28 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 12 | 8.7% | 3.2% | 2.3% | 5.8% | 3.9% |
| Community care teams | 87 | 101 | 98 | 86 | 100.5 | 27.0% | 32.0% | 28.4% | 24.9% | 33.1% |
| Learning disability teams2 | 28 | 30 | 43.5 | 39 | 42.5 | 8.7% | 9.5% | 12.6% | 11.3% | 14.0% |
| Criminal justice teams2 | 37 | 35 | 29.5 | 29 | 28 | 11.5% | 11.1% | 8.6% | 8.4% | 9.2% |
| Children & family teams | 25 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 22 | 7.8% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 8.4% | 7.2% |
| Emergency social work (out of hours) teams2 | 66 | 61 | 68.5 | 64 | 48 | 20.5% | 19.3% | 19.9% | 18.6% | 15.8% |
| Managerial across several teams | 19 | 17 | 25 | 34 | 20 | 5.9% | 5.4% | 7.2% | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| Other non-specialist MH teams1,2 | 32 | 39 | 45.5 | 44 | 31 | 9.9% | 12.3% | 13.2% | 12.8% | 10.2% |
| Total | 322 | 316 | 345 | 345 | 304 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes Intake teams & Physical & sensory disability teams due to concealment of small numbers.
2In 2010, a number of MHOs split working between teams.
Table 15: WTE of MHOs by non-specialist MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| WTE of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Generic teams | 27.25 | 10.00 | 7.50 | 20.00 | 12.00 | 9.2% | 3.4% | 2.4% | 6.0% | 4.2% |
| Community care teams | 80.13 | 94.53 | 93.10 | 82.10 | 93.95 | 27.0% | 31.9% | 30.1% | 24.8% | 32.9% |
| Learning disability teams | 26.08 | 28.38 | 41.08 | 37.20 | 41.10 | 8.8% | 9.6% | 13.3% | 11.2% | 14.4% |
| Criminal justice teams | 34.10 | 32.90 | 28.95 | 26.75 | 27.50 | 11.5% | 11.1% | 9.4% | 8.1% | 9.6% |
| Children & family teams | 24.50 | 22.10 | 26.50 | 29.00 | 21.20 | 8.2% | 7.5% | 8.6% | 8.8% | 7.4% |
| Emergency social work (out of hours) teams | 58.54 | 53.72 | 60.47 | 61.25 | 40.45 | 19.7% | 18.1% | 19.6% | 18.5% | 14.2% |
| Managerial across several teams | 17.50 | 17.00 | 25.00 | 33.00 | 19.00 | 5.9% | 5.7% | 8.1% | 10.0% | 6.7% |
| Other non-specialist MH teams1 | 29.10 | 38.00 | 26.34 | 41.70 | 30.10 | 9.8% | 12.8% | 8.5% | 12.6% | 10.6% |
| Total | 297.20 | 296.63 | 308.94 | 331.00 | 285.30 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes Intake teams & Physical & sensory disability teams due to concealment of small numbers.
Table 16: Average hours spent on MHO work by MHOs on non-specialist MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generic teams | 8.65 | 7.88 | 20.13 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Community care teams | 7.32 | 6.53 | 10.05 | 9.10 | 14.97 |
| Learning disability teams | 14.15 | 12.22 | 11.68 | 7.50 | 13.40 |
| Criminal justice teams | 5.89 | 5.83 | 8.62 | 8.00 | 4.92 |
| Children & family teams | 4.16 | 5.58 | 7.98 | 4.57 | 4.00 |
| Emergency social work (out of hours) teams | 3.66 | 5.29 | 6.47 | 3.57 | 3.98 |
| Managerial across several teams | 3.93 | 2.94 | 6.00 | 4.87 | 5.33 |
| Other non-specialist MH teams1 | 4.41 | 6.11 | 4.79 | 4.68 | 5.60 |
| Total | 5.98 | 7.42 | 8.26 | 6.57 | 5.64 |
These are based on figures from 24 Local Authorities in 2008, 28 in 2009, 23 in 2010 & 2011 and 21 in 2012.
1Includes Intake teams & Physical & sensory disability teams due to concealment of small numbers.
4.3 Exclusive MHOs positions
An exclusive MHO position refers to MHOs whose contract specifies that they are appointed to primarily undertake statutory Mental Health Officer work. The MHOs counted in this section are also included in sections 4.1 & 4.2.
The number of MHO exclusive positions has increased from 131 in 2011 to 167 in 2012, this is the highest number of exclusive MHO positions that has been recorded in this publication. Table 17 show that the majority of exclusive MHO posts are within the Community or Adult Social work MH teams. Table 18 shows the WTE's of exclusive MHOs, the percentage splits across the teams are very similar to those in Table 17.
Figure 8: Exclusive MHOs positions by MH teams, 2012
1Includes staff from Learning Disability Teams and Old Age Psychiatry / Dementia Teams due to concealment of small numbers.
Table 17: Number of exclusive MHOs positions by MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| Number of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Community or Adult Social Work MH Teams | 64 | 82 | 102 | 75 | 98 | 49.2% | 59.0% | 65.8% | 57.3% | 58.7% |
| Other teams1 | 21 | 12 | 25 | 30 | 22 | 16.2% | 8.6% | 16.1% | 22.9% | 13.2% |
| Across all Sectors | 45 | 45 | 28 | 26 | 47 | 34.6% | 32.4% | 18.1% | 19.8% | 28.1% |
| Total | 130 | 139 | 155 | 131 | 167 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes staff from Learning Disability Teams and Old Age Psychiatry / Dementia Teams due to concealment of small numbers.
Table 18: WTE of exclusive MHOs positions by MH teams, 2008 to 2012
| WTE of MHOs | Percentage of yearly total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008ยน | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| MHOs in CMHT's or Adult Social Work MH Teams | 37.7 | 79.6 | 97.0 | 73.0 | 94.14 | 39.5% | 59.1% | 66.4% | 57.3% | 60.2% |
| Other teams1 | 16.9 | 11.6 | 22.0 | 29.5 | 20.5 | 17.7% | 8.6% | 15.1% | 23.2% | 13.1% |
| MHOs across all Sectors | 41.0 | 43.4 | 27.0 | 24.9 | 41.66 | 42.9% | 32.2% | 18.5% | 19.6% | 26.7% |
| Total | 95.6 | 134.6 | 146.0 | 127.4 | 156.3 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
1Includes staff from Learning Disability Teams and Old Age Psychiatry / Dementia Teams due to concealment of small numbers.
2WTE figures for 2008 incomplete due to three Local Authorities being unable to provide WTE for exclusive staff.
Contact
Email: Jonathan Glassford
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