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Mental Health Foundation (2012) Take Control: Self-management in care and treatment planning
6. Staffing Size
The service should aim to have enough staff to cover two shifts per day, seven days a week. At the same time, team size must be kept manageable enough for communication purposes - between 10 and 15 staff.
Staffing and skill mix
How much work the service can take on will be dictated by both the funding and staffing levels.
General staffing considerations:
• Inner city populations will generate more work than rural or suburban populations.
• There need to be adequate staff to manage the treatment phase. A good rule of thumb would be to plan for a maximum of twice daily visits.
• In urban areas, there should be two shifts daily seven days per week, (i.e. a morning and afternoon/evening shift). Night shifts can be covered by 'on call' staff. Overtime situations may arise when crises emerge at the end of evening shifts. (p.9)