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Ellesmere Port CAMHS, Stanney Lane Clinic, Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH65 9AE
Fieldhead Hospital, Wakefield
Royal Preston Hospital, Preston
The Tavistock Clinic, London
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Abstract |
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A postal survey was sent to all consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists in the UK and Eire examining recruitment, retention, job satisfaction and job stress.
RESULTS
A response was received from 333 (60%) child and adolescent psychiatrists. Sixty-one per cent indicated their service was inadequately resourced and 89% reported that their service failed to meet the College's minimum staffing requirements. Safe access to in-patient beds was not available to 71%. One hundred and thirty vacant posts were identified. Rates of psychological distress and burnout were high. Adequate services and the presence of a close, supportive colleague were associated with higher rates of satisfaction and lower rates of psychological distress and emotional exhaustion.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
A multi-faceted approach is suggested and recommendations are described under the headings of self-management, training, recruitment and commissioning.
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Introduction |
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Method |
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The Recruitment and Retention Questionnaire included 49 occupationally-specific questions with structured and open-text responses. These questions covered resources, recruitment, regional trends, training, management arrangements and workload. The Job Satisfaction and Job Stress Questionnaire was a structured questionnaire incorporating demographic and employment details, items from the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975), occupationally specific items on coping and stress, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), and the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28) (Goldberg & Williams, 1988). The 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory produces three sub-scales with standardised threshold scores that identify subjects with burnout in occupational subgroups, including mental health staff. These are: emotional exhaustion (feeling emotionally overextended by one's work, threshold=21/22); depersonalisation (holding cynical and negative attitudes and feelings towards recipients of care, threshold=7/8); and low personal accomplishment (holding negative beliefs about one's ability and competence, particularly in relation to work with clients, threshold=28/29). The GHQ28 is a widely used screening test for common mental disorder which has been used in previous UK studies of health personnel, using a threshold of either 4/5 (Coffey, 1999; Alexander & Klein, 2001) or 5/6 (Caplan, 1994; Blenkin et al, 1995). The two questionnaires were returned to the authors in separate envelopes to preserve the anonymity of the information in the Job Satisfaction and Job Stress Questionnaire.
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Results |
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For some or all of their time, 83% of respondents worked in district child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) (tiers 2 and 3). Ten per cent had responsibilities for in-patient children's units and 17% for in-patient services for adolescents (tier 4); 9% had academic responsibilities; 74% were full time, 23% part time and 3% maximum part time. Fifty-three per cent of respondents were female.
Of the responding CCAPs, 74% had been in their current post for less than 10 years; 23% had been in post for between 10 and 20 years and 3% for more than 20 years. It was felt by 50% that the job of a CCAP has changed for the worse over the years, while 14% felt it has changed for the better and 36% had mixed views. Throughout the UK and Eire, 130 separate, unfilled CCAP posts were identified (some continued to be advertised and some were no longer advertised). In all regions, a large majority of CCAPs indicated that their CAMHS fell short of the College's minimum recommended staffing requirements. The responses to the items in the two questionnaires are summarised in Tables 1 and 2.
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Inadequacy of resources and the absence of a close, supportive relationship with colleagues were significantly associated with emotional exhaustion, high GHQ28 score, and most items of job satisfaction and stress (see Table 3). CCAPs with a managerial role were more likely to be satisfied with their current job (70% v. 57%, P=0.02) and were less likely to be thinking of leaving (29% v. 41%, P=0.03). Part-time CCAPs had lower rates of work stress than those working full-time (55% v. 68%, P<0.05). There were lower rates of satisfaction with employment among female CCAPs (54% v. 70%, P<0.01).
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Discussion |
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The inadequate numbers of CCAPs in-post is a substantial deficit in the CAMHS workforce. Only one in ten respondents indicated that their service met the minimum recommended CCAP staffing requirement, with 60% failing to meet the irreducible minimum staffing level set by the College. These shortfalls were apparent in every NHS region. The survey identified 130 separate vacant posts, representing a vacancy factor of 20%. Almost one-third of advertised jobs remained unfilled after advertisement. In many cases, existing CCAPs attempted to meet this shortfall: 42% were providing cover for unfilled posts, often on an open-ended basis and without remuneration. Responses suggest that future recruitment into the speciality will not be sufficient to fill these posts. Many felt that the experience of young psychiatrists encouraged them to enter the speciality, but half indicated that their higher training rotations had vacancies and two-thirds of CCAPs indicated that the quantity and quality of specialist registrar recruitment is falling. In the face of this evidence, it is alarming that more than half the CCAPs who responded did not consider that their managers had a good awareness of staffing and recruitment difficulties.
The shortfall in resources is not confined to consultant staffing (see Tables 1 and 2). Only 29% of CCAPs have safe access to in-patient beds in working hours and this falls to 15% overnight and at weekends, confirming that lack of beds is of principal concern (Worrall & O'Herlihy, 2001). Inadequate resourcing was indicated by 60% of respondents. Only half the respondents had reviewed their job plan in the previous year and almost one-third indicated inadequate funding for personal professional development. Eighty-two per cent of CCAPs said they were available out of hours: one in five of these arrangements were informal, which may expose them to the risks of practising outside their contract.
It is not surprising that these working conditions take their toll. Work-related stress was reported by 65% of CCAPs and they identified excessive workload, lack of resources in other agencies, conflicting demands and difficulties in arranging beds as the main sources of this stress. Forty-six per cent scored over the GHQ28 threshold of 4/5, suggesting a higher rate of mental disorder that that found in other health professionals, such as ambulance personnel and forensic community mental health nurses (32% and 31% high scorers, respectively) (Alexander & Klein, 2001; Coffey, 1999). Forty-one per cent scored over the GHQ28 threshold of 5/6, which is lower than general practitioners (48% reported by Caplan, 1994) but considerably higher than NHS consultants (21% reported by Blenkin et al, 1995). Likewise, scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory showed high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, although they recorded relative preservation of personal accomplishment. These high rates of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation are in excess of rates reported in senior psychiatrists (Guthrie et al, 1999), oncologists (Ramirez et al, 1995), hospital consultants (Ramirez et al, 1996), forensic community mental health nurses (Coffey, 1999) and traumatised ambulance personnel (Alexander & Klein, 2001). It is of concern that over one-third of CCAPs scored highly on depersonalisation, which involves emotional distancing from patients and cynicism about their care being used as mechanisms for emotional self-preservation. Cross-tabulation of the survey data confirmed that there was a significant relationship between the perceived adequacy of service resources and job satisfaction, job stress, psychological distress and emotional exhaustion. The survey provided evidence of demoralisation among CCAPs: 50% felt the job was getting worse; 34% had moved; 40% were contemplating moving; 42% would not apply for their own job again; 66% planned to retire early; and 74% thought all jobs in child psychiatry were difficult.
One striking finding of this survey is the importance of having a close, supportive relationship with a colleague in child psychiatry. CCAPs without such a colleague were more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and the kind of work they do; to need to take time off due to work pressure; to regret choosing a career in child psychiatry; and to suffer emotional exhaustion and psychological distress. These findings concur with those of others who have suggested that supportive relationships with work colleagues increase work satisfaction and reduce perceived job stress (Lazarus, 1966; Schulz & Schulz, 1988). CCAPs frequently use adaptive strategies to cope with work stress, such as prioritising workload, keeping a boundary between home and work and using friends and family for personal support. Twenty-five per cent cope by driving themselves harder, and perhaps this mechanism accounts for the high level of psychological distress and burnout. Almost one in 12 CCAPs has sought professional support or counselling. The regular use of mood-altering substances by one-fifth of CCAPs gives cause for concern.
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Recommendations |
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Self-management
CCAPs can cultivate mutually-supportive relationships with their
colleagues. Newly established continuing professional development (CPD) peer
groups and the mentoring system for recently appointed consultants will
provide useful mechanisms for this. CCAPs could also stop supporting weak
services by limiting their willingness to cover otherwise-unfilled posts,
hence bringing deficits into the open so they have to be addressed properly.
In this and other ways, CCAPs could stop acquiescing to take responsibility
for services where resources are not available to manage patients safely or to
a good standard of care. The introduction of job plans and their regular
review provides a forum for individuals to discuss their work and to ensure a
manageable workload and satisfactory arrangements for professional
development.
Training
CCAPs should continue to train, encourage and inspire their trainees to
pursue a career in child and adolescent psychiatry. The sector needs to give a
vibrant input into undergraduate and postgraduate training to attract medical
students and young doctors into the sub-speciality.
Recruitment of CCAPs
Inadequate numbers of CCAPs may prove to be the rate-limiting factor in
CAMHS development until a national critical mass of CCAPs is achieved. The
Royal College of Psychiatrists published minimum staffing requirements in
1983. However, after almost 20 years, only a minority of CAMHs meet these
recommendations. Faculty regional representatives who advise on the approval
of job descriptions can ensure that each new post meets acceptable standards,
supported by the model job description
(Littlewood & Dwivedi,
1999). The Faculty's joint working party with the Faculty of
General and Community Psychiatry and its working party on Roles and
Responsibilities have the opportunity to provide clear leadership on standards
and expectations. The Government is attempting to find short-term solutions;
for example, the new NHS International Fellowship Scheme is said to promise
additional specialist manpower support to child psychiatry. Efforts could also
be made to encourage CCAPs to work beyond the age for early retirement.
Commissioning of CAMHS
NHS management has been changing, with more responsibility for
commissioning being taken at the locality level. That CAMHS are found in
fairly equal measure in mental health, community, acute and other
configurations of trusts, suggests that they are not strongly identified with
any one of these management structures. Further, the lack of confidence
expressed by CCAPs in their service manager's experience of child psychiatry
and awareness of recruitment difficulties suggests that it may be advantageous
for CAMHS to have a consistent location within the NHS management structure.
Commissioners and managers need to ensure that they understand current
concerns in child psychiatry, particularly relating to recruitment and
retention, and to demonstrate their understanding in the way they address
problem areas such as inter-agency collaboration and access to tier 4 beds.
The five star commissioning model is an established template to
help commissioners understand how their investment in CAMHS relates to the
scope and capacity of the service which can be delivered
(Davey & Littlewood, 1996). Finally, if the aspirations of the NHS Plan
(Department of Health, 2000) and the anticipated National Service Framework for Children
(http://www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/children.htm)
are to be realised, the Department of Health must ensure that it provides the
means and support to achieve them. the Women & Children's Directorate of
the Countess of Chester NHS Trust for supporting postage costs.
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Appendix |
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Recruitment and retention
Workload
Job satisfaction
Sources of stress
Effects of stress
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Acknowledgments |
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