Engagement Technical Summary Document

What We Did

This work commenced in April 2020 to support the delivery of the Welsh Government Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan 2019-22 and in particular the following action:   

• 03(i) Following the publication of a new 10-year health and social services workforce strategy, Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW) and Social Care Wales to work with the private and Third Sector, local authorities and the NHS to produce a workforce plan for mental health  

This paper sets out engagement completed to date

Clearly COVID has affected both the way in which we have engaged, and also the capacity of our partners to participate at various stages. As a result we have tried to extend the  range of engagement that has gone into the development of the initial draft of the workforce plan using as many approaches as possible.  This included:  

• Individual meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholder groups including 
• Profession specific bodies (including Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of Nursing, Allied Health Professions 
• Routine attendance at key national forums including the Mental Health Network Board and subgroups, Oversight and Delivery Board for Mental Health, National Partnership Board. 
• ‘What good looks like’ workshops with the voluntary sector, Lived Experience Forum 
• A live month-long virtual engagement event
• Profession specific engagement including the development of bespoke reports highlighting workforce concerns for Royal College of Psychiatrists, Occupational Therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Podiatry and Arts therapies
• A social media campaign seeing over 40,000 engagements on Twitter and 3,585 interactions on Facebook, over 700 views on YouTube and 1,000 views of the HEIW website 
• Focus groups such as psychological therapies and peer support work 
• Frontline staff engagement with staff in adult community mental health services

The work has been overseen by a HEIW and Social Care Wales Project Board, which has met monthly from June 2020 and includes representation from Welsh Government, , HEIW and Social Care Wales. 

In addition to all the activities in this table, we also maintained a programme stakeholder advisory group throughout the development of the plan and held?  a public virtual engagement event about changes to the Mental Health Measure regulations, which saw over 140 people take part.  In total we have spoken with thousands of stakeholders across Wales to develop this plan.

The HEIW and Social Care Wales Stakeholder Advisory group has met monthly since November 2020 and includes a wide range of representation, membership includes HEIW (Nursing & midwifery transformation; Education, quality and commissioning; Work-based learning, Medical support and development; Allied Health Professions; Strategic workforce planning; Pharmacy), Social Care Wales, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Psychiatry, representatives of people with lived experience of mental health, Welsh Allied Health Professionals, NHS Wales Health Collaborative (CAMHS & Ed; Adult mental health), Local Authorities, Director of Workforce & OD representative, Primary and Community Care, Hafal, Mind Cymru, National Collaborative Commissioning? Unit and Health Boards – PHW Trust?. 

In addition to this we have regularly met with our task and finish groups for ‘perinatal mental health’ and ‘infant, children and young people’ and met with groups to support psychological therapies.

Between October 2021 – January 2022 meetings with individual stakeholder groups including professional bodies and national reference groups have taken place to identify? key commitments to be included in the workforce plan.  Those who have already had presentations and given initial feedback include MH Network Board, Directors of Nurses , Directors of Therapies, Royal College Mental Health Expert Advisory Group, All Wales T4MH CYP Neuro-development Group Meeting, Workforce Directors, Vice Chairs Group, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BAPC), DPCC Directors of Primary and Community Care, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive, Psychotherapies (BABCP), All Wales AMHP Leads Network, ABUHB PWP service, ADSS Cymru, Adult Mental Health Network Board Subgroup, Collaborative Perinatal, subgroup, NHS Wales Health Collaborative CAMHS subgroup, Heads of Adult Services (AWASH), Heads of Children Services (AWHOCs), Local Authority Workforce Managers, British Association of Social Workers Cymru (BASW Cymru), Welsh Local Government Association, Powys Teaching Health Board (Service Leads & DoMH), Aneurin Bevan HB (Service Leads & DoMH), HelpForce Cymru, the All Wales Senior Nurse Advisory Group.

In summary:

• Throughout October 2020, we facilitated a joint HEIW and Social Care Wales conference, to kick start our work and to understand the complexities of the mental health workforce.  Stakeholders provided feedback through interactive sessions, masterclasses, quizzes, and facilitated conversations.  There was a great response.
• We communicated with national groups and Royal Colleges to get their views
• We facilitated virtual workshops with the national mental health and wellbeing forum and consulted with numerous individuals with lived experience through our month-long engagement event.
• We partnered with the NHS Wales Collaborative Team who spoke with over 200 adult frontline staff regarding community mental health services.  We also met with groups such as the CAMHS and perinatal clinical lead groups and the network board subgroups to get the perspective of health boards
• We asked allied health professionals to write to us about the 7 themes in the workforce plan and we consulted AHPs during our virtual consultation event.
• We facilitated three workshops with 42 third sector organisations in the mental health and wellbeing space, to describe their contributions, and identify challenges and opportunities in the sector
• We facilitated a number of meetings and workshops with those delivering psychological interventions, including psychologists, counsellors, nurses, psychological practitioners and wellbeing practitioners, allied health professionals, social workers and others to understand the breadth of work needed.  We also connected with existing national groups and programs and held meetings with national bodies.
• We learned from the adult network peer task and finish group about the potential of developing peer support roles in Wales – over 3 sessions with participation from all 7 health boards, existing peer workers, the Recovery College and representatives from the forum, we set out a number of actions to take forward in the plan.

Pre consultation we have also had the opportunity to test emerging actions with a number of partners including the Network Board Chair and Manager,, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Stakeholder Advisory Group. 

Overview of KEY MESSAGES

Theme 1:

An Engaged, Motivated and Healthy Workforce

• Our survey found that 39% of staff do not feel valued and 40% do not feel supported.  This needs to change to provide attractive career opportunities and to support staff wellbeing
• Staff spoke of really positive examples of work they felt proud about and expressed that they felt their careers were rewarding.
• Staff also expressed that due to pressures, there is sometimes a lack of support and supervision can be lacking.
• Staff wellbeing was highlighted as critically important to the workforce, particularly given pressures in recent times and big workloads
• We heard that there is no strategic approach to commissioning or delivering training, and no incentives to support staff to train and then to deliver psychological interventions.
• Some regions relied mostly on psychologists while others promote newer professions. 
• Equity of pay and conditions across sectors is needed
• People with lived experience spoke about the importance of staff having an openness and willingness to listen, and found the most important things was the therapeutic relationship.   There was a feeling that supporting a culture change to a person-centred compassionate approach would support this better.
• Need to raise the profile of AHPs and recognise value they bring
• Staff report high levels of commitment, skill and compassion for their work, but feel underappreciated with a lot of uncertainty in short term contracts and perceived lack of voice around the table in decision making forums
• The peer workforce is fairly new to Wales – we have not yet established a strong peer support career structure, unlike other UK and international countries.   All regions in Wales are interested in pursuing this further.  Lots of support for ? developing a once for Wales plan to embed peer roles

Theme 2:

Attraction and Recruitment

• Develop career development frameworks which include non-traditional pathways
• Our survey found that only 48% of respondents feel mental health is a popular career choice, though 80% would recommend it to others
• Low or no pay jobs that are short term pose recruitment challenges and turnover.   Structures encouraging core funding would strengthen the sector and help to raise the profile
• An annual showcase event to highlight the contributions of third sector would help to share exciting work
• More robust data and outcomes around workforce planning are needed to understand gaps and opportunities
• There needs to be greater diversity in the workforce
• There is a need to consider the draft guidance on engagement produced by the mental health and wellbeing forum and its workforce implications (anticipated Spring 2022). This covers a wide range of workforce implications such as detail around Recruitment, Engagement & Reward and Recognition. It was noted that those with lived experience should be on recruitment panels
• There is a need to recruit experienced staff from all professions
• Work should happen with universities
• There should me more exploration of new roles such as peer workers.
• There are difficulties recruiting for roles across the workforce – for example anticipated shortage of OT students to meet demand set out in IMTPs
• There is a need for greater consistency around job bandings
• New career pathways would support a wider range of professionals into psychological professions.
• Modular approaches to learning would complement more intensive master’s programs, upskilling the workforce and making jobs attractive to new graduates.
• A competency and training framework should be developed
• In Wales, there are currently 3 ‘delivery health boards’ with peer support staff and 4 ‘learning organisation’ health boards ie. those with a strong interest in hiring peer workers in the near future. The voluntary sector and local authorities also employ peer workers (numbers unknown).

Theme 3:

Seamless Workforce Models

• People with lived experience spoke about the challenges they encountered attempting to navigate overly complex systems, being ‘bounced’ between teams.  It is important the carers voice is heard
• One of the strongest messages was holistic ‘whole person’ care and to focus on the value of relationships in the community, outdoor spaces, sports, arts etc. rather than just medical
• Better care in a crisis / distress such as more crisis houses and community drop-in centres / hubs to access a range of supports
• Staff spoke about the impact of the pandemic in creating more distance between health and social care staff, with some still working from home and others having remained in the office.
• Staff expressed a desire to develop a better understanding of community resources / one central place to be able to access supports and work better together
• There is a need to diversify existing national leadership organisations to include a wider range of staff delivering psychological interventions.
• Teams expressed that they needed greater targeted investment and support to deliver on the Matrics Cymru and Plant implementation plans for Wales.
• Scoping work is required to understand opportunities for coproduction and shared learning as well as to review existing peer roles across sectors
• Put the person at the centre of all service and workforce models. More work to achieve integration is needed
• Stakeholders told us that there needs to be a review of our models for mental health, which are fragmented and create delays and a negative experience for the person trying to navigate services
• Good practice should be built upon – AHPs are working in exciting new roles in GP surgeries, emergency departments and with police / ambulance. Partners should employ AHPs as part of the multi-disciplinary team, supporting physical and mental health recovery and seeing the whole person.
• Better pathways are needed to achieve more seamless working across sectors
• The third sector supports seamless working around the person, working in a non-stigmatising, non-medical way which supports individual recovery goals and meaningful activity.  Valuable interventions either individually or in partnership with other organisations – several great examples of third sector working with statutory partners to build on.   Easier access, avoiding ‘falling through the cracks’

Theme 4:

Building a Digitally Ready Workforce

• Supporting more robust data and outcomes collection is a key priority – we don’t know what we don’t know
• Delivery of interventions in a range of accessible formats such as online guided or self-help is desirable and necessary
• We need to maximise the potential to use technology to improve access (ie. use of telephone and video chat, access to expertise via consult connect etc)
• Digital tools could help coordinate data. 68% of stakeholders said that digital resources need upgrading
• Telemedicine is being increasingly used to see patients by all healthcare professions particularly in light of the pandemic. However, there are many barriers that need to be considered with regard to patients accessing these services.
• With Covid an acceleration in the use of digital technologies has led to a big increase in remote access to support, which should be explored as it relates to peer work
• There were mixed views on the use of technology to deliver support – some found it convenient and helpful, while others felt it was difficult or spoke about lack of appropriate IT equipment to take part.  Many expressed a preference for face to face ‘human’ interactions with their care team.
• Used social media channels to keep contact during covid lockdowns and alleviate social isolation and loneliness. Pivoted quickly to adapt to new ways of working and help people to help themselves
• Provided a huge amount of resource online to support population wellbeing, often without additional funding
• To evaluate and build on new ways of working / digital solutions (for example OTs using text messages, Ipads on inpatient wards, physios delivering remote exercise programs) To learn from conditions which allowed for rapid changes and innovation without getting caught in usual bureaucracy
• Staff spoke about significant barriers posed by outdated IT systems- there was general support for a ‘once for Wales’ IT system, however no optimism that this would come forward.
• Staff did not have access to iPad, mobile phones or other ways of supporting care in the community
• Staff were often inputting information into double or triple IT systems, risking things being missed and increasing admin burden.

Theme 5: Excellent Education and Learning

• Staff expressed variable experiences with training opportunities, with some feeling they had excellent training and others not having been offered any courses in recent years.  There is a need for a more strategic approach to this across Wales
• Those with lived expertise could offer training to staff with appropriate framework and support
• Those with lived experienced spoke about the need to offer mental health training in a wider range of settings, such as GPs / schools / public
• Training opportunities / framework would support more consistency of learning
• The third sector supports community capacity building, by working with neighbourhood groups to strengthen and empower.
• Coproducing a competency framework for low intensity workers is needed
• Welsh Government should centrally commission large numbers of training places for some of the therapies set out in the Matrics to address the shortage of staff able to deliver these, as has been done in rest of the UK
• Mental health literacy and awareness across all staff groups and at population level is needed
• To consider education and training which addresses gaps such as non-medical prescribing roles.
• Upscaling the recovery college to benefit those across Wales would be very positive
• Several different courses are available of varying quality across Wales.  The T&F group advocates a once for Wales approach to induction, training and supervision, modelled on the HEE competency framework for peer workers
• Promote inter-disciplinary learning to ensure standardisation of approaches and methodologies
• There is a need for a universal mental health training and resource support tool / frameworks

Theme 6: Leadership and Succession

• By moving towards more integrated, longer term funding platforms for the third sector, it will enable stability and foster greater leadership and succession planning
• People spoke about a lack of diversity in the workforce and the need for services to reflect the population, which can pose barriers to those who may not otherwise access support.
• An emphasis on peer-led approaches and a shift towards more equal voices across professional groups was also felt to be important
• There is a need for national clinical leadership post, as well as work to develop a stronger steering body that supports local implementation teams with the delivery of the Matrics.  Work with academic partners and experts will be required to drive forward work at pace and strengthen infrastructure
• A number of existing resources were showcased – a strong message of need for greater development of compassionate leaders to drive system transformation and improvement in mental health. 54% of staff were unaware of any succession planning in their organisation
• Staff spoke about a lack of opportunity to input into the decision-making process at a local level at times and feeling ‘out of the loop’ with transformation activities taking place.  There was a desire to develop skills and for leaders to consult with everyone from people accessing support through to senior management more effectively and in a compassionate way.
• AHPs need clear career pathways that enable specialised and senior roles, as well as supporting compassionate leadership models
• Some professions such as art therapy largely sit outside of statutory services, but should be embedded within teams as core service
• There is currently no centralised support or development mechanism for peer support in Wales. A peer support steering group should be established to work closely with HEIW. That a national peer support lead should be appointed to drive forward development of this profession in Wales

Theme 7: Workforce Supply and Shape

• 71% of staff do not feel staffing levels are sufficient to meet demand and offer a sustainable service
• Supervision capacity was identified as a major challenge
• There is a big lack of psychology capacity – Wales has fallen behind other UK nations
• Some people are waiting for 2-4 years to receive support due to wait lists.
• Currently there are only 36 peer workers in Wales employed directly by health boards (there are many more in the voluntary /social care sectors). The Job descriptions / person specs are variable and inconsistent.  To develop once-for Wales JD’s and bandings for peer roles
• AHPs should be a ‘must’ have not just a ‘nice to have’.  They support the biopsychosocial aspects of care which are so important to keep people well. Further work to understand the AHP workforce is required.
• People felt that staff often seem rushed and very busy, which led them to feel they couldn’t call to talk through a concern.
• People asked to have a diverse workforce, with more support and peer workers to assist with attending community activities
• A way of capturing and monitoring workforce information is needed in the third sector
• Greater pay equality, and a reliable supply of committed volunteers, support staff and experts are needed to deliver third sector services into the future.  More needs to be done to protect these vital services in the community.
• Staff spoke about shortages in some areas, such as being able to access Approved Mental Health Professionals or section 12 doctors when undertaking Mental Health Act assessments
• Staff spoke about a need to better work with person-in environment ie. to draw on the expertise of teachers, guidance counsellors, sports coaches etc.

                                                                                                                                           WHO WE HAVE ENGAGED WITH?

** This list is not comprehensive but illustrates the breadth of engagement and involvement that has taken place in developing the HEIW and Social Care Wales Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan. We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders due to the diverse nature of the audience. We are keen to ensure an even wider range of representatives, groups and individuals have the opportunity to contribute therefore we will continue to engage throughout the consultation period and beyond. We would like to thank everyone that has supported the work and taken time to share their views and ideas, particularly while mental health services remained essential and in full operation during the covid pandemic. **

HEIW & Social Care Wales groups including (but not limited to):

Mental Health Project Board

Mental Health Stakeholder Advisory Group

Social Care Wales Improvement Committee

All Wales Approved Mental Health Professionals Leads Network

HEIW / Social Care Wales T&F Groups: Children &Young People, Perinatal & Psychological Therapies

Joint HEIW & Social Care Wales Board

HEIW Senior Leadership Team

Mental Health Network Board

HEIW Strategic Reference Group

HEIW Education and Commissioning

HEIW Workforce Organisation & Development

Government groups including (but not limited to):

Welsh Government Executive Directors of Nursing

Welsh Government Directors of Therapies and Health Science

Welsh Government Policy Leads

Welsh Government/WAMH Mental Health and Ethnic Minority Task and Finish Group

Welsh Government Strategy Lead and Senior Nursing Officer

Welsh Therapies Advisory Committee (WTAC)

Scottish Government

Royal Colleges, Associations and Registered Bodies including (but not limited to):

Royal College of Occupational Therapists – Mental Health sub-group

Royal College of Nursing

Royal College of Occupational Therapy

Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists

Royal College of Psychiatrists (Wales)

Scottish Royal College of Psychiatrists

Royal College Mental Health Expert Advisory Group

British Psychological Society (BPS)

Division of Clinical Psychology  (DCP)

Association of Clinical Psychologists (ACP)

Division of Counselling Psychology (DoCP)

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

British Association of Social Workers Cymru (BASW Cymru)

Association of Pharmacy Technicians 

Company Chemist Association

National Pharmacy Association

Welsh Local Government Association

General Pharmaceutical Council

Royal Pharmaceutical Society

General Medical Council (GMC)

Third Sector groups including (but not limited to):

Wales Alliance for Mental Health (WAMH)

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)

Adferiad Recovery

Hafal

Platfform

Samaritans

Diverse Cymru

Mental Health Foundation

Mental Health Matters Wales

Welsh Centre for Action on Dependency and Addiction (WCADA)

Mind Cymru

A variety of service areas and other groups including (but not limited to):

Finance

Consultant Perinatal Mental Health Psychiatrists

Perinatal Psychologists

Primary and Community Care

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Perinatal Occupational Therapists

Mental Health Practitioners

Infant Mental Health / Mental Health Early Years

Nursery Nurses

Social Workers

Peer Supporters

Parent-Infant Relationship Teams

Physiotherapists

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Eating Disorder Services

Dementia Services

Older People Mental Health Services 

Psychological Therapies 

Crisis Services

Psychiatry in Mental Health – Section 12 

Arts Therapies

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Midwives

Bereavement Services   

Specialist Health Visitors

Flying Start

Neonatal Colleagues

Alcohol & Substance Misuse Services

Emergency Departments/Minor Injuries Units

Older persons commissioner, Welsh language commissioner & Children’s commissioner

Carer representatives

Safeguarding Leads

Learning Disability Services

Homeless/ Asylum Seekers

Domestic Abuse/ Prisons/ Travellers/ Cultural

External organisations/groups/forums including (but not limited to):

Service User Forum

Directors of Workforce Group

Medical Directors

Primary Care and Mental Health Directors

Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru (ADSS)

Heads of Adult Services (AWASH)

Heads of Children Services (AWHOCs)

Heads of Psychiatry

Improvement Cymru

Welsh Allied Health Professionals Committee (WAHPC)

All Wales Mental Health Network

Mental Health Network Board (& subgroups)

All-Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing forum (People with Lived Experience)

All Wales MHOT Leaders network

Local Authority Workforce Managers

All Wales Nurse Staffing Group

All Wales Senior Nursing Group

All Wales Together 4 Mental Health (T4MH) Children & Young People Neurodevelopment Groups Meeting

All Wales Approved Mental Health Professional Leads Network

Directors of Primary and Community Care (DPCC)

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) subgroup

Adult Mental Health Network Board Subgroup

Collaborative Perinatal subgroup

Health and Care Planning Group 

Eating Disorders subgroup

Wales National Psychological Therapies Management Committee (NPTMC)

Perinatal Mental Health Training Group

National Psychology Training Mental Health Committee (NPTMHC)

Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW)

Traumatic Stress Wales

Neurodevelopmental group

Mental Health consultant nurse group 

NHS Wales Health Collaborative

NHS Wales Collaborative Commissioning Unit

National Commissioning Board

Local Authority Workforce Managers

National Service groups

Health Inspectorate Wales

Care Inspectorate Wales

Applied Psychologists in Health National Special Advisory Group

Heads of Health Visiting & School Nursing

Wales Arts Therapies Advisory Forum

Vice Chairs Group & Vice Chair Peer Group

Workforce Planning Network Meeting

Perinatal Pharmacists group

Heads of Psychology

Heads of Midwifery

Profession Specific Reports

The reports can be accessed via the links

HEIW & Social Care Wales Virtual Conference: Running throughout October 2020, the first HEIW and Social Care Wales (SCW) Virtual Mental Health Conference was designed to offer an opportunity to share in the work that has been ongoing within the Mental Health sector in Wales and to help shape the future of the Welsh Mental Health workforce plan as a key commitment of the Welsh Government and support the Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan 2019-22 . Further information can be found in the Mental Health conference feedback report

RCPsych December 2021 - There can be no doubt that a clear and ambitious plan is necessary to meet the rising demand of patient care needed for an area of the health service that does not operate with parity with other areas. Further information can be found in the RCPsych Wales Mental Health Workforce Report

Arts Therapies Event April 2021 Report: HEIW and Social Care Wales delivered a week-long Arts Therapies showcase event in April 2021. The purpose of this event was to explore the value of the four Arts Therapies, Art, Drama, Dance Movement and Music, in delivering mental health support to citizens and supporting other services. This exploration was part of a wider scoping exercise into the development of new or alternative models of care within Mental Health Services in Wales for consideration and inclusion within the new 10 Year Mental Health Workforce Plan being delivered by HEIW and Social Care Wales. Further information can be found in the Arts Therapies event report

ASD and MH dietetics BDA October 2021: The Cardiff and Vale Integrated Autism Service (IAS) is a multi-agency specialist adult autism service, which is a collaboration between health and social care, hosted by the University Health Board. The team is a multi-disciplinary team of health clinicians and local authority Autism Community Workers. Further information can be found in the ASD and MH dietetics BDS report

Dietitians and mental health Nov 2021: People living with severe mental illness (SMI) face one of the greatest health inequality gaps. The life expectancy for people with SMI is 15–20 years lower than the general population. This disparity in health outcomes is partly due to physical health needs not being prioritised and a lack of engagement with primary care. Further information can be found in the Dietitians and Mental Health report.

Mental Health Workforce Plan Recommendations for Pharmacy in Wales Nov 2021: PHARMACY WORKFORCE is the whole pharmacy team – all roles in all sectors. Some examples, but not limited to, include: a healthcare counter assistant in a community pharmacy, a specialist ward Pharmacist in a hospital, a Pharmacy Technician working within a GP practice in primary care, a pharmacy assistant technical officer working in the hospital pharmacy department. Further information can be found in the Recommendations for Pharmacy Mental Health Workforce plan.

The potential Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Workforce within mental health services in Wales: The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in Wales are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the development of the new Social Care Wales/Health Education Improvement Wales mental health workforce plan.  We view the plan as a real chance to remodel current provision and create sustainable services which ensure that all people in Wales are able to access appropriate mental health support. Further information can be found in the Speech and Language Therapy document.

Occupational Therapy in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities July 2021: Occupational therapy is the largest Allied Health Profession workforce providing Mental Health Services in Wales. Occupational Therapists are embedded into traditional Mental Health and Learning Disability services in the statutory and independent sectors. More recently mental health focused occupational therapy posts are being developed in primary care services. Further information can be found in the Occupational Therapy in MH and LD document.

Physiotherapy Report: Mental Health workforce in Wales Sept 2019: Specialist Mental Health services in Wales are provided by the seven Health Boards. They span a broad spectrum of patient age groups, populations and specialities including perinatal; child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS); eating disorders; adults (<65); forensic services; prison services; substance misuse; liaison psychiatry and older people’s Mental Health. Service configurations include ward or specialist inpatient units, outpatient and community services within each of these specialities.

The role of podiatry in supporting mental wellbeing July 2021: Over the last decade, there has been an increased focus on mental wellbeing in both policy and public discourse. The Health and Social Care Act (2012), created a new legal responsibility for the NHS in England to deliver ‘parity of esteem’ between physical and mental health,[1] with a similar commitment made in Scotland’s Mental Health Strategy (2017).[2] If Governments across the UK are to deliver on these commitments, it is vital that the role of various specialist professional groups in supporting mental wellbeing is understood. Further information can be found in the Podiatry and Mental Wellbeing document.

Voluntary Sector Workshop Themes Sept 2021: As part of delivery for the Together for Mental Health Strategy, several national bodies are working together to deliver some key programmes of work that will influence mental health service delivery in the future. The information gathered in the workshops will be used to inform the development of a national mental health workforce plan. It will also inform a shared vision for community mental health services in Wales and associated guidance.  Further information can be found in the Voluntary Sector workshop information.