The future of the consortium William Butler Chair Substance Misuse Skills Consortium

Format  Some history and activity to date  Why do it together  Issues on our agenda  Next?  Discussion

A brief history of the Consortium  November NTA proposed the idea of sector led workforce initiative to a well attended stakeholder meeting  They endorsed the idea and tasked a smaller group of 16 volunteers to work up a proposal  April The core group consulted with approximately 100 people from the sector (senior managers/practitioners/service users etc.) in developing the Skills Framework  July 2010 – the core group returned to the large stakeholder group (approximately 70 key stakeholders attended) who endorsed the proposal, & the Executive was established

The Executive

Brief History - continued  November Consortium opened for membership and launched its website and the Skills Hub  The consortium now has 150 member organisations & 130 associate members  We have formally agreed constitution and we are an ‘unincorporated association’ (for now)

DRUG STRATEGY Gave the Skills Consortium a central role in: ‘Delivering a whole systems approach’ ‘by an inspirational recovery orientated workforce’

Our ambitions The Consortium has huge potential to support the strategy by: Growing & enhancing the competence of the workforce Promoting coherent, evidence-based and ambitious practice that delivers safe and sustained recovery Providing benchmarks of excellence and effectiveness that can be utilised by all as they strive to achieve these

To conclude  The Consortium has made a good start but has a lot still to do  The NTA was key to pump-priming, but the Consortium needs to be sustainable as an independent entity  Importance of service providers engaging with this agenda to deliver better outcomes and ultimately recovery

Contribution to the item on fees and financing for the agenda of the December 16 th meeting of the Skills Consortium Executive Committee meeting. 1/2 The successful development phase of the National Skills Consortium shows what is possible with a strong lead, a clear focus and a small but well-resourced team who have a clear handle on the profound changes being asked of us. This successful development phase needs to be carried forward with a momentum and resource equal to that which the NTA has thus far brought to the task.

Contribution to the item on fees and financing for the agenda of the December 16 th meeting of the Skills Consortium Executive Committee meeting. 2/2 In determining our resource/funding needs, we will take into account the localising/fragmentary thrust of policy and strategy currently taking place. If a strong, national lead on skills is to be provided, it will no longer be provided by an arms length body of government: we as an industry will have to provide it ourselves.

National Skills Consortium: Routes into the Discussion. 1.Who are we and what is our remit? a)Beyond skills and training?… Collaboration; Representation’ Influence. b)The Skills Consortium Research and Evidence Group 2.Commissioning: How will we address the threats of fragmentation, marginality and unacceptable local variations? a)An emphasis on integration in a period of fragmentation and austerity: Leicester Total Place-Alcohol Findings 3.What is our commitment to sharing and collaboration when set against the growing privatisation of knowledge? 4.Can we design an adequately resourced, unified, industry body adequate to the challenges we face?

1a) Beyond skills and training?… Collaboration; Representation; Influence “The strategies required to develop an adequate workforce response to alcohol and drug problems extend well beyond the narrow traditional notion of “training”. Systemic and sustainable changes within key organisations and agencies are also essential. A major paradigm shift is required to refocus our thinking away from an exclusive orientation on training to one which encapsulates factors such as organisational development, change management, evidence-based knowledge transfer and skill development.”  From: What is this thing called Workforce Development, Anne M Roche, NCETA

2 Commissioning: The threats of fragmentation, marginality and unacceptable local variations.  Our field has always lacked integration at national, regional and local levels.  Under localism unacceptable variations in commissioning priorities and practice may result in our services being marginalised and fragmented.  What might be the key dimensions of new thinking about the integration of the recovery-oriented drug treatment systems with other systems of health, social care, welfare and justice?  People should shape their own experience of the system through self-care, peer support, personal health/social care budgets and experience one system of care, treatment and recovery, not several disconnected ones.  With a greater emphasis on prevention, early and intervention together with a more systematic and proactive management of chronic disease through more integrated models of care.

3. What is our commitment to sharing and collaboration when set against the growing privatisation of knowledge? Recommendations from the May 2011 Kings Fund report on Leadership and Management in the NHS.  “Every NHS organisation and provider must take responsibility for their leadership and management development.”  “Organisations should collaborate to undertake leadership development where that makes sense.”  “The health service does need a national focus on leadership and management development, potentially delivered through a national NHS leadership centre.”  “This requires a focus on developing the organisation and its teams, not just individuals, on leadership across systems of care rather than just institutions…”

Issues on our agenda  Broaden the service user voice  Alcohol  Stigma  Safeguarding  Under utilised psychosocial interventions  Learning from and working with recovery communities

Next  Independence  NTA withdrawal  Representation and voice up to Government  Resourcing Met with senior representatives from 40 providers to discuss resourcing  We are developing more concrete proposals on the future