New Roles, New Challenges: Understanding boundary work to support the implementation of new roles in mental health Trusts
Professor Damian Hodgson is co-leading a project, alongside Dr Pauline Nelson, that will help us understand how mental health services can best implement new roles, to maximise benefits for staff, service users and organisations.
Project overview
The NHS is currently dealing with a workforce crisis as it faces huge challenges recruiting and retaining a workforce capable of responding to increasing demand for care. This workforce crisis is most acute in mental health services which suffers from a higher turnover of staff and more vacant positions than the rest of the NHS. One response to this challenge is to recruit staff to various new roles to complement the workforce. Introducing these new roles means changing the 'skill-mix' in mental health services and redesigning how care is organised and delivered to better suit the needs of service users and patients.
Through a national study funded by NIHR, Professor Damian Hodgson is working with colleagues in the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) to explore how best new roles can be implemented. A national survey of all English Mental Health Trusts identified over 80 new roles being introduced and identified common challenges across these roles. Through a series of eight case studies in NHS Trusts in South Yorkshire, Professor Hodgson and the team have analysed organisational transformation accompanying the introduction of eight roles:
- Advanced Practitioner
- Clinical Associate in Psychology
- Education Mental Health Practitioner
- Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioner
- Multi-Professional Approved/Responsible Clinician
- Nursing Associate
- Peer Support Worker
- Physician Associate
They have identified how new roles are introduced either defensively (to protect and maintain existing provision) or proactively (to enhance and extend care and provide new career opportunities), and also analysed how professionals engage in 'boundary work' to collaborate or to compete with other practitioners.
