An extra pair of hands? A case study of the introduction of support workers in community mental health teams for older adults.

BACKGROUND

Despite the expanding deployment of support workers in mental health services, little evidence exists on what managers and professional practitioners should expect of such staff in community settings.

AIMS

This case study evaluated the introduction of support workers in community mental health teams for older adults.

METHOD

A multiple method design engaged support workers and professional colleagues in individual interviews, a focus group and a work satisfaction survey.

RESULTS

While the new resource boosted service provision, disparity between the intended role and the assumptions of professional practitioners caused confusion and dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights the need for managers to ensure role clarity when non-professional workers are introduced into multidisciplinary community teams.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Promoting diversity of skills in the mental health workforce is a progressive move in tuning services to the heterogenous needs of clients in the community. However, introducing unqualified workers into multi-disciplinary teams necessitates clear guidance to prevent their activity being confined within existing professional models. Support workers offer much potential in innovative service delivery.