Tauawhitia te Wero provides a framework for the development of the mental health and addiction workforce over the next four years.
It is also intended as a high-level ‘umbrella’ plan providing national direction on key issues for all other workforce planning in the mental health and addiction sector. It builds on the more detailed workforce development and planning activities of the national mental health and addiction programmes and centres, District Health Boards (DHBs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the regional mental health and addiction workforce co-ordinators.
Tauawhitia te Wero maintains an emphasis on a systemic approach to mental health and addiction workforce development and contains goals, objectives and actions across five strategic imperatives:
- workforce development infrastructure
- organisational development
- recruitment and retention
- training and development
- research and evaluation.
The plan will be monitored by the:
- Mental Health Directorate, via its workforce and services contracts management and reporting system - the Directorate monitors contracted services against Blueprint levels and reports on gaps
- Mental Health Workforce Steering Committee, as part of its strategic overview role
- review process for DHB regional strategic plans
- six-monthly Mental Health Commission DHB provider mental health workforce monitoring reports
- NGO and DHB stocktakes, undertaken as part of this plan.