Policy responses and statements

Name of organisation:: The Scottish Government - Healthcare Policy and Strategy Directorate
Name of policy document:: Workforce Implications of Better Health, Better Care
Deadline for response:: 22 August 2008

The Scottish Government has requested the College's comments on the workforce implications of Better Health, Better Care.

Purpose:

To inform all Better Health Better Care Advisory Groups of progress in developing a workforce response to implement Better Health, Better Care; and to gather views on the 5 initial challenges that have been identified and how this project is to be taken forward.

Background:

As part of discussions on strategic workforce issues at the NHS Chairs meeting in February, the Cabinet Secretary floated the idea of developing a workforce strategy. It was proposed that the time is ripe to develop a workforce action plan to tackle the workforce challenges arising from the Better Health, Better Care action plan. This would help raise the profile of workforce, as well as ensuring implementation of workforce elements of the Better Health Better Care action plan are taken forward in a cohesive manner, and within the context of the wider global impacts and influences on the NHSScotland workforce.

Discussion:

Five core workforce challenges have been identified that run through the Better Health, Better Care action plan. These are:

Tackling health inequalities - how the NHSS and wider health and social care workforce can contribute towards tackling causes and consequences of health inequalities, with a focus on the working environment, individual behaviours, pre-employment training and first destination work opportunities.
Supporting a real shift in the balance of care – ensuring multi-disciplinary team working across professional, organisational and geographical boundaries, better links between health and social care and with a wide range of partners e.g. community health partnerships and the voluntary sector
Continuing the development of a high quality workforce – recruiting and retaining the right workforce to deliver the right services at the right time in the right way (making health care in Scotland safer still), and ensuring flexibility across traditional workforce boundaries (e.g. across geographical, NHS Board and sector silos)
Ensuring best value – ensuring an efficient and flexible workforce, delivery of HEAT and efficiency targets, including workforce specific KSF and absence management targets, and further implementation of benefits realisation
Mainstreaming of workforce – moving towards integration of workforce planning with service delivery as part of wider planning framework to meet patient needs in a way that is affordable and sustainable; more dynamic workforce planning across NHSScotland and better workforce planning links across wider health and social care interests; and ensuring workforce implications and role considered at early stage of policy development across SG Directorates.

These challenges are being explored with a wide range of stakeholders in order to develop a short, focused action plan that will set out for NHS Boards, and other interests, actions to tackle these challenges over the short, medium and longer term. The actions will enable Boards to tackle immediate issues and prepare for longer term changes, as well as ensuring that there is continuation in delivery of the day to day business.

It is intended that the action plan will be developed in partnership with the sector, using a similar methodology to that used in the Better Health Better Care consultation. This involves wide, but focused consultation activity within short timescales with partnership groups, regional groups and other key interests. To support this work the Partnership Secretariat Group has agreed to take on the role of steering group for this project.

The first stage of this process included a ‘mini plenary’ and ‘think tank’ session at the NHSScotland Event on 25 June, which was co-facilitated by workforce directorate and service representatives. This resulted in a significant level of constructive discussion and identification of a range of actions deemed to be priorities for progressing this work. Findings are being collated and will be made available on the NHSS event website in due course.

It is envisaged that a short, focused action plan will be published by the end of the calendar year.

Actions:

Better Health Better Care Advisory Groups are invited to:

note the proposals to develop a workforce action plan to deliver the Better Health Better Care workforce challenges;
provide comments on the identified workforce challenges and on potential priority actions to be taken to tackle these challenges by completing the standard template for contributions.

Download this consultation response as a .pdf

Copies of this response are available from:

Lesley Lockhart,
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
9 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JQ.

Tel: 0131 225 7324 ext 608
Fax: 0131 220 3939

[31 July 2008]