Addiction Today

NTA UPDATE ON COMPETENCE

Targets will be scrapped

As the new National Drug Strategy is being developed, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, in partnership with other central government stakeholders, has reviewed its approach to workforce issues.

“We will not be setting new targets when the current ones end in April 2008,” stated the NTA. “But it remains our ambition that all drug treatment-sector staff and managers have a recognised competency assessed or professional qualification appropriate to their role and are pursuing relevant continuous development.

“Over the past few years, the workforce has expanded to increase capacity and access to treatment - which thousands of clients now benefit from. But an unintended consequence was that, in some areas, workforce issues were detached from joint-commissioning commissioning (purchasing) activity. This needs to change. After all, if a partnership identifies problems such as low retention or difficulty in engaging certain groups (for example crack users), the solution is likely to lie in the workforce.

The NTA wants commissioners and services to build a workforce which is “fully competent and able to demonstrate its competence in line with the joint NTA/Home Office Workforce Development Plan. The needs assessment and treatment planning guidance 08/09 encourages partnerships to consider workforce implications. The NTA is also combining workforce monitoring with the upcoming Unit Costing exercise, so commissioners and providers factor workforce into their thinking when making decisions on allocating resources.

NTA lead: treatment delivery manager Colin Bradbury on 020-7261 8835.       

JOB DESCRIPTIONS, TRAINING, WORKFORCE

Summary of guidance from the NTA

The following workforce initiatives have been built by the Natioanl Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, to develop professional skills of existing staff and increase numbers working in the substance- misuse adult-treatment sector.

These include:

·         a joint workforce development plan (pdf) to support partnerships in workforce planning

·         a national training needs analysis of all drug treatment sector workers (2003)

·         a skills audit of drug and alcohol workers working with young people

·         competency-based training modules for commissioners, managers and practitioners

·         staff development toolkit for drug and alcohol residential services

·         staff development toolkit for drug and alcohol services

·        job descriptions aligned to DANOS

·         workforce strategy template (Word)

·         an induction reading list (pdf) for new JCMs.

·         Joint commissioning development programme. The NTA supports an initiative designed and organised by the Institute of Public Care at Oxford Brooks University, which offers a certificate in commissioning and purchasing adult substance-misuse care in England   

·         Taking a Competency Approach to Fair Recruitment in the Substance Misuse Field. This aims to set examples of good practice into the framework of recruitment and in particular show how the National Occupational Standards can be used throughout the process. It also builds on previous publications such as the Staff Development Toolkit for Drug and Alcohol Services produced by the National Treatment Agency.

With a strong emphasis on fair recruitment and on practical solutions, the aim is to promote a consistent approach in the field and to encourage best practice.