Access to Supervision Position Statement for MHAOD Services

Guideline number: QH-GDL-976:2023

1.Purpose

1. Purpose

This statement outlines the responsibilities of Hospital and Health Services (HHS) to ensure mental health, alcohol and other drugs (MHAOD) workforce have access to supervision.

2. Scope

This statement applies to the Queensland Health MHAOD workforce, including medical, nursing and allied health clinical assistant staff; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers; lived experience (peer) workers; and other frontline staff including administrative personnel working within the Queensland Health public MHAOD service system.

Compliance with this Statement and the associated Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services 2023 and Peer Practice Supervision Guide 2023 is not mandatory, but sound reasoning must exist for departing from the recommended principles within a guideline.

3. Defining supervision

In this document supervision is defined as a formal process of professional support and learning that enables staff to develop and enhance knowledge and skills; actively reflect on their practice; explore issues to do with safety, boundaries and ethics; identify and manage workplace stressors; develop culturally safe practice; enhance the safety and quality of consumer care; and maintain accountability for the quality of their work.

Examples of the types of supervision covered by this document include, but are not restricted to, professional or clinical supervision, lived experience (peer) practice supervision, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reflective Yarning and Multicultural Supervision, where appropriate to the MHAOD workforce.

This document does not refer to operational management activity or performance appraisal processes.

4. Position statement

Queensland Health supports and provides access to supervision for all MHAOD staff as an essential part of a broader framework of clinical governance activities designed to support staff and ensure the delivery of safe, ethical, high-quality services and effective outcomes.

Supervision is central to promoting the personal and professional development and wellbeing of the MHAOD workforce across Queensland Health by providing a framework that encourages review and reflection in practice to maintain clinical standards, improve consumer outcomes, and reduce staff burnout.

Supervision is a core function of Queensland Health that should be resourced, planned, managed, and evaluated at all levels of the organisation.

Supervision is integral to MHAOD practitioner role requirements and role descriptions.

Ongoing supervision for all staff involved in the direct delivery of services is critical to ensure quality assurance in practice, regardless of the experience and level of appointment of the individual practitioner.

5. Responsibilities

It is recommended that all HHSs and MHAOD services observe the following:

• HHSs have a responsibility to ensure that MHAOD staff have access to appropriate professional development and support in the exercise of their joint and individual responsibilities for practice.
• HHSs will have mechanisms in place to ensure access to evidence-based supervision training and regular supervision (including access to external supervision if necessary) for all MHAOD staff regardless of professional stream, specialty, career stage, location or setting.
• Where a health profession is regulated by Queensland legislation with regards to registration for that profession, the HHS will facilitate the attainment of supervision requirements for initial and/or continued registration for the employee.
• HHSs will have mechanisms in place to ensure access for:
  • staff to receive training on the principles of supervision.
  • supervisors to receive training in the delivery and evaluation of supervision.
  • supervisors of supervisors should also receive training in the supervision of supervision.
  • HHSs will have mechanisms in place to ensure that supervision is audited, evaluated, and documented at an individual practitioner level and at a service level.

6. Related documents

Legislation

• Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011
• Mental Health Act 2016
• Human Rights Act 2019
• Information Privacy Act 2009
• Public Records Act 2002
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011
• Work Health and Safety (Psychosocial Risks) Amendment Regulation 2022

Policies and Standards

• Practice Supervision in Allied Mental Health.  Human Resources Policy G5 (Queensland Health QH-POL-192:2008)
• Education Training Policy and Procedure: Supervision (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry) 2018
• Credentialing and defining the scope of clinical practice policy (Queensland Health QH-POL-390:2015)
• Health professional’s registration: medical officers, nurses, midwives and other health professionals Human Resources Policy B14 (Queensland Health QH-POL-147:2021)
• National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (second edition, 2017)
• National Standards for Mental Health Services (2010)

Guidelines and other supporting documents

• Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services (Queensland Health Statewide Guideline QH-GDL-977:2023)
• Peer Practice Supervision Guide (Queensland Health) 2023
• Clinical Supervision Framework for Queensland Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health) 2021
• Australian College of Midwives, Australian College of Nurses and Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Joint Position Statement on Clinical Supervision for Nurses & Midwives
• Queensland Health Mental Health Framework Peer Workforce Support & Development (2019)
• National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing, 2017-2023
• Queensland Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Framework 2010-2033
• Better Care Together: A plan for Queensland’s state-funded mental health, alcohol and other drug services to 2027
• Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service 2011
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work - Code of Practice 2022.

7. Document approval details

Document custodian: Director Clinical Governance, Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch

Approval officer: Chief Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Officer

Approval date: 14 November 2023

8. Version control