National Health Executive News

Volunteer initiative launched to combat NHS workforce shortage

A volunteering organisation has launched a new initiative which will help five NHS trusts in England. It will encourage the trusts’ volunteers to think about a long-term career in the NHS. The ‘Volunteer to Career’ programme is thought to tackle the workforce shortages in the NHS.

Read more about the initiative here.

Listening into Action (LiA)

Influencing our future at the NHS

The team want your input, opinions and ideas to identify ways we can improve as a Trust, to enhance not only your experience, but fellow colleagues, service users and patients. Their aim is to make the Trust a great place to work in, which in turn will only have a positive impact on the quality of care provided to our patients.

The LiA team held an event on Tuesday to celebrate the achievements already made. from 1st July 2019, 6,489 ideas for change were identified by staff within the trust. From that 15 teams were created to improve staff experience, from digital teams to equality and diversity, all staff from all stages in their career were listened to. Take a look at the different teams and their accomplishments here.

To complete the survey and voice your opinions, complete this survey by Friday, 4th September.

Employer approaches to building placement capacity

NHS Employers, October 2019

Ambitions to scale up the number of nursing students across the NHS set out within the NHS Long Term Plan and the Interim People Plan will require services to increase the number clinical placements they offer. Understandably there is some apprehension about how additional capacity can be generated. This NHS Employers briefing provides an insight into some of the strategies and ideas being explored by employers to increase placement capacity and offers some options for you to consider.

Click here to view the full report.

Evaluation of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES): Report on Initial Evaluation, January 2019

University of Sheffield and Lancaster University, September 2019

This document is an interim report detailing the first six months of an evaluation of the WRES. This is an independent evaluation, conducted at the University of Sheffield, in conjunction with Lancaster University, with funding provided by NHS England. Many aspects of addressing race inequality are specific to individual trusts and the historical and local context in which the organisations operate is important. It is particularly important to consider that it is too soon to expect to see significant change in healthcare delivery and outcomes as a result of the WRES; this will take years to bear proper fruit, and it is still the early stages of that journey.

• It is important that the WRES continues with the same commitment and momentum; it is vital to retain the same indicators and methodology so that trusts can learn as much as possible from their data, by monitoring change over time, and to help them embed the culture change that is needed to ensure greater race equality within the NHS

• It is essential that the future leadership of the WRES is considered a priority, both in terms of ensuring continuity at the national level and in terms of decentralised leadership so there is more expertise at a local level

• In order to maintain positive views of the WRES, steps should be taken to ensure that “monitoring fatigue” is kept to a minimum by allowing greater use of existing data and procedures. This may be particularly important for other initiatives such as the new Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES).

Click here to view the full report.

Ageing confidently: supporting an ageing workforce

Centre for Social Justice, August 2019

It is estimated that by 2035, over half of all adults in the UK will be over 50 years of age. This report proposes several recommendations to provide older people and employers with the support needed to unlock the potential of this demographic and enable older people to access the benefits of work. It states that without a concerted effort to increase the opportunities for older workers, individuals, businesses and the economy will suffer. Among the recommendations are enhanced healthcare support through improvements in occupational health, training in mental health first aid and further support for those aged 55 and over from the Work and Health Programme from the Department of Work and Pensions. It also recommends a rise in State Pension Age to 70 by 2028 and to 75 by 2035.

Click here to view the full report.

Professionalism and Cultural Transformation (PACT) toolkit: A toolkit to support managers to improve professional attitudes and behaviours in the workplace

NHS Employers, August 2019

This toolkit aims to educate and empower staff to improve professionalism within their workplace, helping organisations move towards making the NHS the best place to work. The toolkit is based on tried and tested work undertaken by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and is designed to help staff embed the PACT programme in their organisation. It contains practical information, advice and solutions to equip staff to deal with unprofessional attitudes and behaviours in the workplace.

Click here to view the full report.

Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: Process Evaluation Report

Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care, July 2019

This research looks at stakeholder views of the Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies pilot which began in March 2018. The Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies pilot provides tailored employment support to people with depression and anxiety who are currently accessing free cognitive behavioural therapies through the NHS. This research was commissioned to better understand:

  • experiences of implementation of the employment adviser provision
  • views on the effect of the programme on patient employment and mental health outcomes
  •  any service benefits, including increased recognition among therapists of the importance of employment for recovery
  • any operational challenges with the pilot such as employment adviser training and recruitment

Click here to view the full report.

Independent evaluation of the Think Ahead programme

Think Ahead, May 2019
The Think Ahead programme is a fast-track graduate scheme, offering graduates and career-changers a new route into mental health social work. This independent report contains an evaluation of the Think Ahead programme.  The findings of the report are mainly positive and the authors call for the programme to continue to be developed and supported.
Click here to view the full report.

Health and well-being at work

CIPD, April 2019
This report shows the findings of the nineteenth annual CIPD survey which explores the trends and practices in workplace health.  The findings of the report show that employers are increasingly recognizing their critical role in improving the health of the workforce. But the survey highlights some cause for concern, including an increase in stress-related absence and a lack of support for managers, who are increasingly expected to take responsibility for their team’s well-being. The report recommends that organisations invest in more training and development for managers.
Click here to view the report.
Click here to view the public sector summary.