Working with trusts on analysis

Work led by NHS East of England Workforce Programmes is helping trusts gain a bespoke assessment of their position on compliance. 

Essex Workforce Development Confederation is working in partnership with Skills for Health - Workforce Projects Team, the Workforce Review Team and Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA to help the NHS develop solutions to this challenge of analysing the work that is needed in NHS organisations. The piece of work Essex is leading on involves the development of diagnostic tools and enabling strategies to support individual organisations.

The first phase of this work has involved research based assessment, interviewing teams in 31 trusts in England, between December 2005 and March 2006. The purpose of the approach is to develop comparative information and enable identification of scenario/solutions that are regarded as positive contributors to assist trusts achieve the required changes.

Commenting on the approach Jan Bloomfield, HR director for West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust – one of the 31 trusts contributing to the research-based assessment, says:

“I think that it is really important knowing where we have come from in order to develop a view of where we need to go. Shared learning, promoting examples of good practice is an approach that can only be of benefit to us all. It’s quite clear that it will not be possible for the NHS to come from a position of one solution fitting all, therefore the development of a toolkit which enables trusts to identify options to move forward should add value.” A database of information from the assessments has been pulled together – trusts can compare their position to the sample group. A detailed report of the project will be available soon.

“The next phase of the project will involve more detailed diagnostics to identify the issues the trusts need to address as they try to move towards achieving WTD 2009 compliance,” explains Steve Buggle, director of workforce development at Essex WDC, “A criteria-based diagnostic tool is under development, which will enable a more detailed analysis to be undertaken with 10 representative trusts. This phase of the project will begin in April 2006. A final phase will involve working with two trusts, one teaching and one non-teaching. Utilising these tools and information to enable development and implementation of substantive plans for change.”

Learning will be widely disseminated on an ongoing basis as the project progresses and the information will be available through future issues of Calling Time and the healthcare workforce portal.

“It's quite clear that it will not be possible that one solution will fit all” Jan Bloomfield, HR director