Service Development Through Multi‐Disciplinary and Multi‐Agency Partnerships
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200200027 |
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| Pages | 27-30 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| Author | Frank Burbach,Michael Donnelly,Roger Stanbridge |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Focus on…
The Mental Health Review Volume 7 Issue 3 September 2002 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 2002 27
Service Development Through
Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-
Agency Partnerships
Frank Burbach
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Somerset Partnership NHS and Social
Care Trust
Michael Donnelly
Director of Strategic Development
Somerset Partnership NHS and Social
Care Trust
Roger Stanbridge
Head of Art Therapy and Family
Therapist
Somerset Partnership NHS and Social
Care Trust
n order to establish a new family
interventions in psychosis service in Somerset we have
developed a programme that integrates individual
skills-based training with team and service
development. This approach has necessitated the
development of new multi-disciplinary and multi-
agency partnerships to transcend existing training
structures. We propose that the new workforce
development confederations (formerly education
purchasing consortia) and universities adopt similar in-
situ multi-disciplinary team training approaches in
order to meet the clinical service development needs
identified in the National Service Framework
(Department of Health, 1999).
Introduction
The National Service Framework for Mental Health
sets a challenging service development agenda for
specialist service providers and commissioners to
ensure that effective and timely interventions are
available for individuals whose mental health
Iproblems cannot be managed in primary care. This is
to be achieved by recognising that change needs to be
systematic and sustainable, and by developing
ambitious standards and realistic local delivery
systems. The National Service Framework accepts
that change cannot be implemented in a matter of
months; additional facilities, extra staff and further
training will be required to achieve some of the
standards. While there is a need for extra investment
in the mental health infrastructure, the primary focus
for change and development will be in the staff, the
multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams, and in the
systems of care delivery.
To support this development the National Service
Framework’s aim for workforce planning, education
and training is ‘to enable mental health services to
ensure that their workforce is sufficient and skilled,
well-led and supported to deliver high quality mental
health care’. There is an acceptance that ‘not all
mental health staff, even those trained relatively
recently, have the skills and competencies to deliver
modern mental health services’ (p108), and
recommends a ‘fast track ... of focused education and
training to address the critical skills gaps, including
competencies for ... psychosocial interventions’ (p111).
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