Partnership for Care recognised that only 'through better co-operation at regional and national level' will it be possible for NHS Boards to provide the full range of modern health services. Increasingly we will see clinical networks of care and potentially other networks to support the service over larger areas than individual NHS Boards. This will mean changes for the workforce.
The need for more capacity highlighted above suggests that the block of work the NHS has to deliver will not only remain the same but increase. If the capacity to deliver is increased but there is a decreasing availability of those profession who traditionally provided particular elements of care then the work must transfer to others. Role transfers must be supported by education and if both the new roles and the educational pathways to support are not developed across wider areas that NHS Boards, they will not be sustainable.
Regional workforce groups have a role to support the workforce and educational strategies for their regions.
Each Regional Group has a workforce champion - the champion in the North is Gillian Needham, Postgraduate Dean of Aberdeen: in the East it is George Brechin, Board Chief Executive NHS Fife, and in the West it is Ian Reid, Chief Executive, GPCT and the Pay modernisation Director for Agenda for Change.
Workforce Redesign will be necessary to support the emerging agenda, driven by many service pressures but primarily the workforce agenda.
The need for increased capacity is hampered by many workforce issues which will see capacity to deliver reduced. Increased capacity is needed to deliver increasing activity, particularly emergencies, the increasing age of the patient population, with co-morbidity, the decrease in the time that patients will be expected to wait and the increasing expectations of the public that the NHS will deliver. Capacity reduction pressures include: consultant contract, GMS contract, modernising medical careers and the increasing trend towards supernumerary training for junior doctors. Role transfers to other professions are inevitable but many of these professional groups are also experiencing shortages. And we haven't even mentioned working time compliance.
NHS Scotland simply isn't sustainable in its present form. If we don't redesign we will fail the public and ourselves.
| Workforce Redesign must follow service redesign and this must be supported by education. Future service planning must be integrated. See diagram |
 |
Regional Workforce arrangements are emerging at different paces within the three regions but all are at an early stage of development:
North of Scotland
- Annie Ingram is the Regional Planning & Workforce Coordinator for the North.
- Regional Workforce Designer, Regional Planning Co-ordinator and IT Support Posts will be filled shortly.
- A workforce event in the north is being planned - probably around unplanned care/out of hours. This will link Primary and Secondary Care with new ways of working and could develop proposals which would raise not only the profile of the service planning but Workforce issues who benefit of the service across the North.
- The network is scoping some of the generic issues raised in terms of workforce planning by emergence of Managed Clinical Networks
West of Scotland
- The West of Scotland Regional Workforce Director post is being re-advertised. Further applications along with those received to date will be considered. It is hoped that interviews will be arranged as soon as possible with appointment around May 2004.
- Meeting with HR Directors in the west (workforce steering group) is to take place on 2nd February 2004. The bids received to date from within the west to date will be discussed and spending approved for spend to end of March 2004. Further discussion will be required on how monies will be spent in the medium to long term. Further meeting are to be arranged to consider the outputs / deliverables which will help shape future workforce infrastructure.
South East of Scotland
- The bid from the South East Region has been received. The allocation of funding letter was sent to Fife NHS Board (host board) at the end of December 2003
- A meeting organised by George Brechin (Workforce Champion) for the South East Region HR Directors was held on 18 November. This was very much a preliminary meeting and it was agreed that a further meeting would be held at the end of January 2004 at which the short to medium term priorities for the SE Region might be considered.
- As part of its regular schedule of meetings, the South East and Tayside
Group held a workshop on the afternoon of 30 January 2004 relating to
how planning might be undertaken within the region. This was done using
4 case studies. The emphasis was on service planning but would have
to consider workforce development implications.