New Plymouth 4U Forum, 2 March 2007

Our happy band of forum staff was expecting a good turn out in the Naki - well, why shouldn't they? Our Service User Workforce Manager Carolyn Swanson hails from those parts - and no one was disappointed! We had the highest number of registrants so far, and they arrived with plenty to say. Here we capture some of the questions and conversations:

• There was a query from the drug and alcohol and non registered workforce - has "mental health" sought a legal opinion on the impact of the Health Practitioners Competency and Assurance Act? People would like to see an ongoing response to an NGO report on this and the implications across both sectors.

• Training - what is the way forward between support workers and non registered drug and alcohol workers? It was suggested there is an opportunity to look across both at career pathways and qualifications.

• Many of the support workers in New Plymouth have completed the mental health support worker certificate and are tired of the continual round of in-house training required to support quality and standards evidence, eg, challenging behaviour, and really want to see some designated training offered that is part of the framework that could be cross-credited towards a diploma. Support workers are ready now for a career pathway with recognised training accredited.

• How do we validate the role and contribution of the workforce into wellness outcomes for people using services?

• Can we get better at our own information management?

• DREEM (The Developing Recovery Enhancing Environments Measure outcomes tool) was a topic of discussion.

• Nursing and NGOs - New Plymouth has a monthly meeting of NGO nurses and four are currently accessing CTA funding to complete postgraduate papers. It was noted that this resource would dwindle next year with this same funding being also available to PHO nurses. There is groundwork required for nurses working in the NGO sector to complete the requirements of the HPCA Act.

• There is a New Plymouth DHB/NGO initiative to have NGO nurses complete a two-week placement within an acute mental health setting.

• Retention of nurses within the NGO sector is a real issue.

• Placement of student nurses within NGOs is an ongoing issue, in particular, with regard to supervision by a registered nurse and lack of good resourcing.

• A good community NGO experience for training nurses is an effective way to recruit into the sector.

Page last updated: 2 May 2008