Skills
for Care have recently (November 2019) published the annual statistics relating
to the AMHP workforce. This is the second year that statistics on the AMHP
workforce have been published. I wrote about the first year's statistics here.
Whereas
the statistics from 2018 were based on a 92% response rate from local authorities,
2019's statistics are based on a near perfect 99% response rate, so reflect
even more accurately the current state of play with AMHP across England (it
does not cover Welsh AMHP's I'm afraid).
This
shows that there are currently approximately 3,730 AMHPs. The previous year
there were 3,900, which indicates a decrease of 4%. This is in the face of
every increasing demands on AMHPs to undertake assessments under the MHA.
80%
of all AMHPs are directly employed by a local authority. Of the rest,16% are
employed by the NHS (but not necessarily nurses) and 4% are agency or
freelance.
I
find the last statistic interesting, as I, and the Masked AMHP Facebook Group,
regularly get enquiries from professionals wishing to become freelance AMHPs
and encountering difficulties. The main problems for freelancers are obtaining
places on qualifying training courses, obtaining opportunities for work
placements, and then finding a local authority prepared to formally approve
them.
Very
few AMHP courses accept self funding candidates, although the University of
East Anglia has been one.
In
2018 95% of AMHPs were qualified social workers. In 2019 this figure was 94%,
with the remainders consisting of 5% nurses, less than 1% being occupational
therapists, and a single clinical psychologist, despite all these occupations
being eligible to train and practice as AMHPs.
I
do think this is a shame, as from my own experience being involved with the
training of AMHPs since the creation of the role in the MHA 2007, I have found
nurses and OTs are well able to take on the social perspective necessary to
practice as an AMHP, and their professional backgrounds make a valuable
contribution to the overall AMHP workforce. I would like to see NHS MH Trusts
allowing more nurses and other eligible professions to undertake the training.
The
current survey estimates that 32% of AMHPs are aged 55 or more. The previous
year, it was 30%. This implies that overall, if only slightly, the population
of AMHPs is aging. This continues to be of concern, as more AMHPs reach
retirement age, but are perhaps not being replaced. The survey notes that "
this group may retire within the next ten years."
It
goes on to say:
There
were notably fewer qualified AMHPs under 40 compared to social workers. The
average age of a social work graduate was 31 in 2017/18 3, which
indicates that social workers may progress to becoming an AMHP later in their
career.
(I
confess here that I am now approaching 66 years of age, and though still
warranted as an AMHP, I officially retired in October 2019, when I reached
State retirement age. I still have a zero hours contract with my local
authority, but while I was previously, on a semi retired basis, working for my
local authority in the AMHP service two days a week, I now officially only have
to undertake 3 MHA assessments a year to retain my AMHP approval. How many
others are in the same position, or approaching it, and are they being
replaced?)
For
social workers considering undertaking the AMHP role, the survey provides data
on current salaries. The average salary for an AMHP is £38,100 per annum.
I
will conclude this brief review with a statement from the foreword:
We
know that detention rates are increasing and AMHPs are dealing with increased
challenges in local systems as they support people and fulfil their roles. This
highly trained and skilled workforce has had to adapt to the changing contexts
as the prevalence of mental ill health episodes are still increasing. AMHPs are
core to the application of the Mental Health Act bringing independence and
scrutiny to enable the best outcomes, striving to develop options within the
persons home and community rather than hospital.
Even
as I slowly withdraw from the active AMHP workforce, I would endorse the
sentiment that AMHPs work hard to find alternatives to hospital admission, and
hope that the challenges of the role will encourage professionals to take on
the AMHP role, rather than deterring them from it.
