Evidence and best practice examples of 'New Ways of Working' nationally

A New Way of Working with Team Managers

As key members of staff in any organisation delivering mental health services these are the people who provide a pivotal role in establishing and implementing a culture of good practice and leadership in teams delivering services directly to service users and carers. This includes the implementation of 'New Ways of Working' initiatives. The Practice Based Evidence consultancy has developed a Strengths Leadership Programme, targeted specifically into organisations to support and develop groups of staff in Team Manager positions. It aims to help these staff members to:

• Reflect on and develop their own strengths and talents
• Consider ways of implementing 'New Ways of Working' in their teams
• Meet the challenges of their leadership and management roles

Visit the link above to find out more details about the programme.

Humber Mental Health Trust Example re New Ways of Working for Everyone

A best practice guidance (DH 2007) was developed by the NIMHE National Workforce Programme to support health and social care organisations to take a strategic approach to the implementation of New Ways of Working (NWW). The guidance includes indicators and outcomes that demonstrate what NWW might look like in practice, one of the outcomes identified is 'use of internal bank staff for all professions in place and effective use being made of NHS professionals where external agencies are required'.

To support organisations to achieve the outcomes identified in the guidance the National Workforce Programme are collating examples of good practice which will be shared via this website. Humber Mental Health have developed a centralised bank system which is a good example of how organisations can address the issue of temporary staffing by allocating a dedicated resource, which ensures a consistent approach and results in a temporary workforce that is cost effective, flexible and responsive to need.

To see Humber CBS implementation report click here

Team21

Developed by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust Team21 is a dynamic process that ensures that Trust requirements around service improvement and clinical effectiveness are achieved at team level. It was launched in July 2004 as a team based working system where teams, including service users and carers, agree a shared vision for the future. They also identify areas for development and work together to make it happen. The Team21 portfolio contains a set of standards and activities to support teams. There is a performance management system in place to help drive the process and to enable teams to self-assess and report progress. Support is provided by an Organisational Development Manager at team and operating unit level. Links have been developed between other corporate services e.g. Clinical Governance and Patient and Public Involvement, to create a robust framework.

For further information please click here

NWW in Clarence House Community Mental Health Team - Blackburn

This is a good example of study on New Ways of Working initiatives within a Community Mental Health Team. Please click here, to see the results.