MH92 Support and challenge teams and agencies on specific aspects of their practice

Overview

This standard covers supporting the personal and professional development of teams and agencies by enabling them to reflect on their values, priorities and interests when they are undertaking different aspects of their work and supporting them in evaluating their own effectiveness. This standard applies to senior practitioners and managers with additional experience and expertise.  They may be employed as a service co-ordinator or professional manager.  They will not necessarily have line management responsibility for those whom they are supporting and challenging. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. the nature of the mental health sector, the nature, roles and functions of the principal agencies within the sector and their structures, functions, methods of communication and decision making processes, including national and local variations
2. how your own work and work role interacts with others in related agencies and the benefits of working collaboratively - across agencies and across disciplines
3. how teams and collaborative work evolve over time and the impact of this on relationships and effective working
4. why it is important for workers to understand their own personal beliefs and preferences, values, interests and priorities when working with others
5. how interests, priorities and values may affect team and agency members work and change over time
6. strategies and methods of encouraging team/agency members to evaluate realistically their own values and practice, the factors that influence their effectiveness, and methods of tackling such factors
7. how to provide constructive challenges which focus on the work and not on the person who did it
8. effective ways of challenging and developing team/agency members in relation to values and attitudes
9. the networks and support systems which may be available, the nature of the support they may give and how to access them
10. the support which others may give to team/agency members to assist them in reflecting on their practice
11. the nature of the inter-relationships between yourself and others with whom you work and how this may affect your ability to work effectively
12. the limits of your own work role
13. the principles and process of action planning and how to assist members to develop realistic achievable plans
14. how to evaluate the support which different team/agency members will need when delivering services (e.g. in relation to the stresses and strains that different team/agency members are under, their levels of expertise and confidence) and encourage them to seek support themselves
15. the purpose of providing team/agency members with clear information and the nature of the information they need to carry out their work
16. the purpose of providing information on the inter-relationship between the different roles which people have
17. the subtle ways in which professional boundaries and relationships between workers and those with whom they work can become eroded, related risks, and the ways in which individuals may seek to manipulate the relationship
18. the specific legislation, guidelines of good practice, charters, protocols and service standards which relate to the work being undertaken and the impact of this on the work
19. how to monitor, analyse and assess the implication of, and changes in, legislation and the regulatory environment and interpret and apply them to the work being undertaken
20. the methods of continuously monitoring the nature of your own relationships with others to identify breaches of boundaries
21. the methods of monitoring the nature of others’ relationships
22. how to evaluate the effectiveness of your own actions and the need to develop your own competence and skills in line with changes in knowledge and practice
23. how your area of practice is changing and the implications of this for your own skill and knowledge base

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. encourage and support teams and agencies to:
1. identify their collective values, interests and priorities in relation to the work they are undertaking
2. think through and identify the impact which their values, interests and priorities have on their practice
3. reflect on their personal beliefs, preferences and behaviours as members of a team or agency, to identify the effect which these have on how they think about and work with others
2. offer teams and agencies constructive feedback on their practice, their effectiveness within their role and their ability to work with others
3. encourage teams and agencies to reflect upon and identify:
1. the factors that affect the effectiveness of their practice
2. which of the identified factors they are able to tackle, and how
3. those factors for which they need support, and from whom this may come
4. ways in which their practice can be improved
4. suggest to teams and agencies in a fair and constructive manner:
1. those factors which may be affecting their effectiveness
2. ways in which their practice could be improved
5. encourage teams and agencies to challenge any of your views which they feel are not reasonable or justifiable
6. assist teams and agencies to:
1. identify realistic and achievable goals for improving their practice
2. draw up a realistic and achievable plan for achieving their goals
3. seek support from appropriate people who are in a position, and are willing to help them to achieve their goals
4. identify how and when they should review their progress towards their goals and your role in this
7. offer teams and agencies information and advice to enable them to identify and use effective support systems and networks
8. agree with teams and agencies the nature, frequency and purpose of routine contact and how to contact you if they are in need of additional discussion, advice and guidance
9. maintain contact with teams and agencies to provide opportunities for feedback, discussion and support
10. liaise with teams and agencies in the manner and at the frequency agreed with them
11. enable teams and agencies to reflect on and make decisions about:
1. levels of contact
2. the objectives and outcomes of their work
3. how their work relates to evidence-based practice
4. the need for intervention by other specialist workers and agencies
12. actively monitor that professional and behavioural boundaries are clear and are being observed by teams and agencies in their work relationships
13. challenge appropriately teams and agencies who show signs of becoming complacent with the progress of their work and re-emphasise the importance and purpose of the work
14. encourage teams and agencies to take the necessary actions to maintain the key focus of their work
15. encourage teams and agencies to secure appropriate support to manage their work effectively
16. provide support and guidance to ensure that teams and agencies only undertake activities for which they are competent and which are within their remit
17. actively monitor the effect which undertaking different activities has on teams and agencies and take appropriate action where there are concerns that the activities are detrimental to their collective or individual health and social well-being

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 4 Service improvement