DMH 311 Memorandum from All Wales Senior
Nurse Advisory Group
I wish to advise you that at a recent
meeting of the All Wales Senior Nurse Advisory Group for Mental
Health the implications of the Draft Mental Health Bill were considered.
The following issues represent the key concerns and considerations
in respect of the implementation of a new Mental Health Bill,
as outlined in the draft Bill from a mental health nursing perspective.
The Mental Health Workforce
- We are concerned
about the capacity of the existing workforce being able to meet
the requirements of the proposed Bill. There are many services
in Wales struggling to recruit appropriately skilled and experienced
mental health nurses and there are inadequate numbers of students
being trained to meet existing workload demands. If the Bill
is enacted within the next three years there will be inadequate
resources within the mental health workforce to ensure compliance
with the new and somewhat bureaucratic arrangements, which will
underpin the Bill. The need to enhance admin and clerical support
must also be recognised.
- Implementation of the National Service Framework in Wales
must be acknowledged as a fundamental pre-requisite to ensure
compliance with any new Mental Health Bill.
- The value and appropriateness of a separate Code of Practice
and Regulations for England and Wales to support the implementation
of the new bill is questioned by the All Wales Senior Nurse Advisory
Group.
- There will be significant training needs for all staff working
within the mental health setting, which will need to be considered
and supported.
- The impact of the Incapacity Bill could have further significant
implications on the mental health workforce and training requirements.
I hope that you are able to consider these comments as a submission
of evidence. The All Wales Senior Nurse Advisory Group would
be happy to provide further comments if so required.
Mrs Mandy Rayani
Chairman
All Wales Senior Nurse Advisory Group
Mental Health
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