Evidence submitted by Norfolk, Suffolk
and Cambridgeshire SHA (WP 74)
In response to questions from the Health Committee,
in particular in relation to how planning should be undertaken
in the future.
What examples of good practice can be found in
England and elsewhere?
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic
Health Authorities project evaluation results prove that the "patient
centred approach to workforce planning"[80]
is an effective tool to planning changes in the workforce along
care pathways, if supported by appropriately trained and motivated
champions in workforce planning.
The 14 pilot projects have indicated to the
NHS a need for the patient centred approach to workforce planning
to complement service redesign and tackle the challenges of the
modernisation agenda.
Table 1
PATIENT CENTRED APPROACH—ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Supports NHS modernisation agenda and its approach to service redesign, including development of national standard care pathways[81].
Enables people to look at services and workforce from a different angle and identify more efficient whole system solutions.
Facilitates collaborative working and creates ownership across all sectors along the care pathway through stakeholder engagement.
Is supported by a simple and versatile toolkit, which can be tailored to specific needs and builds up information over time.
| Approach is more time consuming than traditional workforce planning approaches that focus on historic roles and ways of working.
However, this could be overcome by using the approach alongside "traditional" workforce planning processes and by concentrating efforts on areas where significant service improvements can be made.
|
| |
What needs to happen to make it work?
1. Attitude and approach to workforce planning needs
to be changed at all levels, starting from the top.
2. Develop a role or mechanism that facilitates service
planning and development, of which workforce planning is an element
of, ensuring involvement of all key stakeholders from an early
stage.
3. Workforce planning and workforce development needs
to be embedded as a core skill for all managers.
A full copy of the project evaluation report can be obtained
from Gabi Trojan at Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic
Health Authority (gabi.trojan@nscsha.nhs.uk).
To what extend should it be centralised or decentralised?
Project evaluation results from patient centred approach
to workforce planning (see above) have demonstrated that workforce
planning can only be fully effective, if it is embedded with service
development. As service development is undertaken
— nationally (by DH in the form of NSFs, policies,
etc.),
— regionally (by SHAs, LITs, clinical networks,
etc.) and
— locally (by PCTs and service providers in the
form of LDPs, Business Plans, etc),
workforce planning needs to be undertaken at those levels too.
However, for such an approach to be fully effective, it needs
to be supported by synchronisation of service, finance, workforce
and education planning cycles at all levels.
Gabi Trojan
Workforce Planning Manager, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
SHA
24 April 2006
80
Bosma, Brooks and Bradshaw (2005): "Population Centred Approach
to Workforce Planning", described as "patient centred"
approach in previous versions from University of Manchester. Back
81
"Do once and Share" NPfIT project at www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk Back
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