Reviewing Policies and Procedures in New CMHTs
| Published date | 01 September 1998 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322199700025 |
| Pages | 16-17 |
| Date | 01 September 1998 |
| Author | Daphne Obang |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
16 The Mental Health Review 2:3 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 1997
Daphne Obang, Divisional Manager,
Adult Services
NEWHAM SOCIAL SERVICES
N
ewham Social Services and Newham
Community Health NHS Trust have
worked over the last two years to integrate
local CMHTs under a single management structure,
responsible for both health and social services staff.
The Joint Mental Health Policy Group (JMHPG)
has developed a number of mechanisms by which
staff coming into these teams can quickly become
familiar with the key polices of the other agency and
ensure that all members are up-to-date, particularly
with those polices which are concerned with client
care, user and staff safety and service quality.
The major mechanism described below is that of
a policy action group. This is not a new or highly
sophisticated innovation. The idea has been around
since the ‘quality circles’ notion transferred across
from industry in the mid- to late-1980s. It is a tried
and tested approach, yet one which is still too rarely
established in the constantly changing world of
health and social care. The pressures of time usually
manage to squeeze this sort of activity off the weekly
timetable. However, it seemed to us essential to
create and protect space for front-line staff to
thoroughly review and reflect on the polices they
are continually putting into practice.
The overall aim of a policy action group (PAG)
is to ensure that policies and procedures are known
and adhered to by all staff and that they reflect the
reality of staff day-to-day work. They are no substi-
tute, however, for managers addressing all key
polices in professional supervision, IPRs and/or
staff meetings and demonstrating how they know
whether particular procedures are being carried
out by individual staff. The PAG reviews each key
service policy in turn, using the checklist below.*
The PAGs are a staff development event and focus
on the practice of policies and procedures, often
through using case studies. One of the key aims of
a PAG is to ensure that polices actually improve the
service offered to users. It is important to consult
with users and obtain their feedback during the
process. This can be done by inviting users to the
PAG or senior co-ordinating group or consulting
with them outside these meetings and feeding their
views into the discussion. This works best when
services have an established local user group with
which to consult.
Structure
PAGs are held on a quarterly basis and last about an
hour. The structure is as follows:
●Agree a chair. The chair could rotate, although it
is probably better to identify someone with good
chairing skills (that is, keeping the group to task,
ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak, stop-
ping the domination of the group by one or two
members, keeping to time, and so on) and ask
them to be a ‘permanent’ chair.
●It is immensely helpful to have a flipchart at
each meeting and a person (with the most legible
writing) to record key points from the discussion,
as it goes along.
●Administrative support to each meeting (possibly
through a team secretary) ensures that everyone
gets relevant papers in advance and that the notes
of the meeting are fully written up.
●For each policy (circulated in advance of the
meeting) a group member presents the key
points. Points of understanding are raised and
clarified.
Reviewing Policies and Procedures
in New CMHTs
CASE STUDY
* T
his checklist was developed by Helen Smith, Centre for Mental Health Services Development.
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