DANOS and The Drug & Alcohol Workforce in Wales

The Drugs and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS) specify the standards of performance/competencies that people in the Drug & Alcohol field should be working to. They also describe the knowledge and skills needed to meet those standards.

DANOS Rationalisation

2007 Update

Skills for Health have recently reviewed the Drugs and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS) framework as part of a review of all of its National Occupational Standards (NOS).  The main purpose behind this review has been to reflect changes in NOS over the past few years.  Skills for Health, like all Sector Skills Councils, tries to ensure that all of its products are as up to date and relevant to the sector it supports and therefore reviews of NOS and Qualifications are an important part of this role.

Historically the DANOS suite was made up of NOS imported from several suites including – Health and Social Care, Management and Leadership, however these suites were given DANOS code labels (e.g. AA2).  The DANOS suite also included standards developed specifically for the Substance Misuse workforce. 

As a result of this exercise you will still be able to access the majority of the original National Occupational Standards (NOS) that have historically made up the DANOS suite, but you will notice some changes, these include:-

1) Some NOS remain unchanged in both content and code labelling (the prefix to a standard e.g. AA1).
2) Some of the NOS have had their code label changed because the original is now being used e.g. from AA2 to HSC233 (Health & Social Care).
3) Some of the NOS that were imported to the DANOS framework have been updated by the originating sector. The updated competences have therefore been included and given their original code label e.g. AD2 to ENTO L10.
4) Some of the original DANOS have been made more generic, to fit with Skills for Health’s procedures, and have consequently been given a GEN or CHS code label e.g. AC2 to GEN36 and AH5 to CHS12.
5) Finally some of the NOS have been split into several NOS due to changes in the original standard e.g. AH8 to Pharm 07, 08, 09, 10, 11.
A summary of the changes that have been made to the DANOS suite can be found in the attached document which can be accessed here .

It is important to note that there is no immediate need for organisations or individuals to undertake an extraordinary review of items such as – training courses, job profiles, appraisal/PDP documentation etc in light of these recent changes.  However it would be recommended that the changes to these National Occupational Standards are reflected in any such material at a time which is most convenient for yourselves.

Click on the links below for further information

DANOS Rationalisation 2007

What is DANOS?

What is DANOS not?

Uses of DANOS

Benefits of DANOS

National Occupational Standards for the Drug & Alcohol field (DANOS)

The Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS) framework has recently undergone  rationalisation, which means that each of the standards have been reviewed in consultation with a DANOS rationalisation group.

Key outcomes of the rationalisation process are:

1. Some of the standards have remained exactly same i.e. the code label and description have been unchanged.
2. Some of the descriptions of the standards remain as they previously were, however the code label has changed i.e. if a code had been imported from another set of occupational standards that existed prior to DANOS, and then included in DANOS with a DANOS code, it has now been changed to reflect the original set of occupational standards that it came from. For example:

• The DANOS standard ‘AA2 Relate to, and interact with, individuals’ has now become ‘HSC233 Relate to, and interact with, individuals’ as it was taken from the Health and Social Care National Occupational Standards

• Some of the standards that had been incorporated into the DANOS standards when they were first created from other sectors, have since been updated and hence the updated version of the standard is now included in the occupational standards for the drug and alcohol sector.
  
• Some of the original DANOS standards have been made more generic. Such standards now start with a GEN code, for example:
• The DANOS standard ‘AC2 Make use of supervision’ has now become ‘GEN36 Make use of supervision’

Please click here to view the updated occupational standards for the drug and alcohol field.

What is DANOS?

DANOS is an acronym for a set of standards, “Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards”.  They specify the standards of performance / competencies that people in the Drug & Alcohol field should be working to and the competencies that these people should have so that they are effective in their jobs.

DANOS describes the working knowledge you need to demonstrate that you are effective in your role / job.

DANOS has three key areas

1. Service delivery
2. Management of services
3. Commissioning services

There are different standards for each of these areas. To view the Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards in full please click here

What is DANOS not?

DANOS is not a free standing entity

DANOS is not an awarding or a quality assurance body

DANOS is not a training provider

DANOS is not a brand name

DANOS is not just about NVQs

DANOS was developed by the Sector Skills Council for the health sector – Skills for Health. For more detailed information on DANOS please go to the Skills for Health website - click here

Uses of DANOS

Workforce planning

The Drugs & Alcohol National Occupational Standards helps you plan numbers of personnel and the competences of these personnel that are needed to carry out business activities. This information is crucial to supporting the strategic objectives of your organisation.

Job design

Closely related to workforce planning is job design. Good job design involves  designing jobs that are attractive to competent personnel, are sustainable over time and offer opportunities for development. The Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards can be used to specify the activities of each job and form the basis of a competence-based job description. The term "Job Specification" as used below comprises both the competence-based job description plus the specification of knowledge and skills required.

Recruitment and selection

The Job Specification, comprising both the competence-based Job Description and the specification of knowledge and skills required for the job, is a vital component underpinning fair and effective recruitment, assessment and selection.

Induction

If you are newly appointed to a post, the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards can help you to understand your roles and responsibilities and identify what needs to be in your induction plan.

Good practice guidance

At their simplest, the competences in the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards can be used to provide guidance on how to carry out your work activities.

Training and development

The Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards can support and direct training and development needs analysis, the design of training and learning materials, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of training and development interventions.

Assessment

National Occupational Standards can be used to assess both the performance of individual workers and the extent to which they possess the required knowledge and skills. The assessment may be for a number of different purposes, such as selection, identification of training needs, evaluation of the effectiveness of training, performance management, quality assurance or public certification.

Recognition

Like National Occupational Standards in other industries, the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards are the basis of nationally recognised qualifications. Many NVQ’s (National Vocational Qualifications) and academic qualifications are the designed around DANOS. For example, the newly created Foundation Degree in Substance Misuse from Bangor University has been aligned to DANOS.

Continuing personal and professional development

Individual practitioners can use the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards to manage their own personal and professional development.

Career development

The Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards can also help individual practitioners plan and take action to develop their careers.

Succession planning and promotion

Organisations can use the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards to identify who is likely to succeed to a post when someone leaves or retires, and prepare them for their new role.

Performance management

You can use the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards to form role profiles. These role profiles can then be used to work with members of your team to help them perform to the standards required for their job.

Organisational culture

Using the Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards as a team, organisation or partnership will inevitably have an impact on the culture of that team, organisation or partnership. The culture that develops will be one of empowerment, reflection, and individual and collective commitment to delivering services to an agreed quality. It will also be a culture committed to modernisation and redesign.

Quality assurance

The Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards places responsibility for quality assurance firmly in the hands of individual practitioners. They know clearly the standards they are expected to work to and can check they are consistently meeting these standards. Their managers also have a framework to assess the performance of their team members and be assured they are competent to carry out the activities assigned to them with the minimum of supervision.

Partnership development

The Drug & Alcohol National Occupational Standards is a useful structure to support partnership development, because it provides a common language and an overall framework in which all partners can understand their own roles and other partners' roles in working towards a common purpose.

Benefits of DANOS

Why use National Occupational Standards in the Drug and Alcohol Field?

The greatest asset that an organisation has is the people that it employs. A distinct separation between successful organisations and those that are not is a motivated, skilled and competent workforce. This is where National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the Drug and Alcohol Field can help organisations and individuals to achieve their business and personal goals. Such standards were developed because whilst many NOS that were in existence prior to the development of NOS for the Drug and Alcohol Field were relevant i.e. those developed for the health care, social care, counselling sectors etc, it was felt that there were also significant gaps, particularly for standards that reflected the specific context of the field and for those responsible for the commissioning of drug and alcohol services and the development of policies and strategies.

Below highlights the key benefits that can be obtained by becoming competent in NOS for the Drug and Alcohol field, from both an individual and organisational perspective.

Benefits for Employees

Benefits for Employers

To view the NOS that are relevant to the Drug and Alcohol field click here

Other relevant NOS

Whilst DANOS will cover the majority of what your job entails, it may be that you feel that there are aspects of your job that are not accurately covered by DANOS. If you wish to identify further NOS that are relevant to your role please consult the National Occupational Standards Directory. To access the Directory go to: www.ukstandards.co.uk.