Dr. Fiona Keogh:

It is a huge challenge for organisations in the community and voluntary sector, in particular, that they are continually looking for a budget every year. They have no certainty of funding in terms of planning and developing services. We know that these organisations are a crucial part of that continuum of support to avoid people being unnecessarily forced up to the most specialist level of the system, when in fact the support would be more appropriately provided wherever they are living, in their own homes, or other settings like workplaces, schools and so on.

Multi-annual funding for community and voluntary organisations is an important commitment. That needs to be tied to those organisations working to meet the outcomes that are set out in Sharing the Vision. Many of them already do that but we could be better at setting out that we will give them annual funding to do this, this and this.

Another important thing that could be done within the front-line mental health system is to maybe be more imaginative and flexible in who is being recruited. There are shortages in certain staff groups or certain specialties and rather than continually going to the marketplace, knowing that we will not be able to recruit from certain groups, if we look more specifically at need within a team or within a local area and maybe recruit to fill specific needs such as family therapists and people who have specific psychotherapeutic skills, who would obviously be appropriately trained, accredited, registered, etc., that would go some way to addressing some of those gaps. While the workforce is built, that is another parallel piece of work that needs to go on.