Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Workforce management'.
Found 602 results
-
EventuntilMusculoskeletal (MSK) problems are a leading cause of disability and sick leave in the working population. The purpose of this meeting is to assist participants in developing and implementing effective strategies in their practice to address these issues. A panel of experts from various disciplines, including occupational health, orthopaedics, psychology, and policy steering groups, will provide comprehensive and practical information on the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of MSK problems. By attending, you will: Learn about the latest innovations in ergonomic settings at workplace. Understand supportive psychological factors for management of MSK pain. Learn about the state of art therapeutic interventions in some MSK conditions affecting workers. Gain insights into national policies/strategies for prevention and rehabilitation of the MSK problems. Register
-
News Article
Plan to pump 10,000 fake doctors into the NHS is insane and dangerous
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
You might not have heard of a ‘physician associate’ - and that’s not your fault. They probably won’t tell you. A physician associate walks and talks like a doctor, but they are no replacement for one. To become a physician associate you need to complete a two-year postgraduate course or three-year apprenticeship. But despite much less learning than the five years a junior doctor must undergo to be qualified, they are often paid more than them. Which is why the government’s plan to flood the NHS with 10,000 more of them over the next 15 years doesn’t make any sense. There’s certainly no money-saving aspect. This is simply another corner-cutting exercise to quickly plug gaps in a struggling NHS that will put patients at risk. Far from saving doctors work (their original purpose), they often create more. Physician associates are unregulated so cannot be held accountable for their mistakes, meaning doctors must recheck any critical decisions they make. Critical decisions are made quite frequently in hospitals. But they’re not just overstretching doctors and creating more work; they’re harming patients. A recent Daily Mail investigation has found brain bleeds misdiagnosed as inconsequential headaches and lung disease mistaken for a chest infection. Doctors say they are “increasingly concerned” by this. Read full story Source: LBC, 16 October 2023 -
Content ArticleThis report by the Nuffield Trust looks at workforce training issues in England, arguing that the domestic training pipeline for clinical careers has been unfit for purpose for many years. It presents research that highlights leaks across the training pathway, from students dropping out of university, to graduates pursuing careers outside the profession they trained in and outside public services. Alongside high numbers of doctors, nurses and other clinicians leaving the NHS early in their careers, this is contributing to publicly funded health and social care services being understaffed and under strain. It is also failing to deliver value for money for the huge taxpayer investment in education and training.
-
News Article
‘High use of agency staff’ contributed to care failings exposed by hidden cameras
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
High use of agency staff contributed to the care failings exposed at a mental health trust by undercover reporters, an internal inquiry has found. Essex Partnership University Trust was at the centre of a Channel 4 documentary last year which raised concerns over care, including the use of restraints and patient observations. The trust initially refused to release the final report after a freedom of information request by HSJ, but has now released a redacted version on appeal. The report identified a number of concerns in relation to patient and staff safety, saying factors that contributed to these concerns included high usage of temporary staff and high patient acuity on the two acute mental health wards recorded. The internal inquiry looked into allegations of the inappropriate use of restraints raised in the documentary. This section, which contained redactions, found restraint was taught to be used as a last resort, but suggested high temporary staffing levels and a “lack of confident and adequately skilled staff” contributed to guidance not being followed. Another concern was around staff sleeping on duty and the use of mobile phones during patient observations. The internal inquiry found there was an “absence of visible leadership and role modelling” to ensure this did not happen during clinical practice. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 October 2023 -
Content ArticleThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the adult social care workforce in England and the characteristics of the 1.52 million people working in it. Topics covered include: recent trends in workforce supply and demand, employment overview, recruitment and retention, demographics, pay, qualification rates, and future workforce projections.
-
Content ArticleThe Community Hospitals Association (CHA) has designed a suite of resource packs as a way of sharing some of the learning in an accessible way. This resource pack focuses on the topic of safer staffing in community hospitals. This resource pack has been compiled because of requests from members of the CHA and the Special Interest Group in Q
-
Event
Safer case loads and workforce standards (10 November 2023)
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThis free online event is an exciting opportunity to hear nursing workforce expert, Professor Alison Leary MBE, speak on the subjects of safe caseloads in community nursing. Professor Alison Leary PhD RN FRCN is Chair of Healthcare & Workforce Modelling at London South Bank University and Director of the QNI’s International Community Nursing Observatory. We will also hear from Cathy Woods and representatives of the software company Yarra, on the Use of E-CAT software for Monitoring Caseloads. The E-CAT product for district nursing is an electronic tool which supports caseload analysis and audit. Underpinned by a bespoke dependency tool and based on a methodology validated by the University of Ulster, the tool looks at caseload variables at all levels, from caseload holder to commissioner and facilitates caseload benchmarking and performance management. The tool has been implemented in all five health trusts in Northern Ireland providing a significant regional evidence base. We will be able to hear about the experience of using E-CAT in Northern Ireland from the NI Public Health Agency. Register -
News Article
News SAS and LE doctors need targeted support, says GMC
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK’s rapidly growing number of specialist, associate specialist, and specialty (SAS) doctors and “locally employed” (LE) doctors need targeted and specific support to make the most of their expertise, the General Medical Council has said. SAS and LE doctors are the fastest growing part of the medical workforce, increasing by 40% in four years, from 45 578 in 2017 to 63 740 in 2021, said the regulator.1 This was largely driven by doctors from overseas coming to work in UK hospitals. SAS doctors are specialty and specialist grade doctors with at least four years of postgraduate training, including two in a specialty relevant to their area of work. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 9 October 2023 -
Content ArticleWith demand for GPs outstripping supply, GP retention must be a priority in tackling the current workforce crisis. The NHS has lost the equivalent of 2,187 full-time fully qualified GPs since 2015, 8% of the current total of full-time fully qualified GPs. GPs in the UK are reporting the highest stress levels and lowest job satisfaction compared to their counterparts in nine other high-income countries. In this article, published by the King's Fund, GP Trainee, Holly Young reflects on a recent roundtable that explored solutions for GP retention, organised by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
-
Content ArticleThe report from the International Labour Organization describes the results of a special analysis of data from the Labour Force Surveys (LFS) of 56 countries which provided data about health and social care workers in sufficient detail to distinguish between different occupational groups within the workforce. The report covers analyses for 29 countries in Europe and 27 from other regions of the world. This analysis can help to highlight specific occupation groups and countries which are at heightened risk of decent work deficits and demographic imbalances.
-
Content ArticleThe Patient Safety Partner (PSP) is a new and evolving role developed by NHS England to help improve patient safety across health care in the UK. This web page outlines Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust plans to develop a team of PSPs to work alongside staff, patients, service users and families to influence and improve safety within its services. PSPs can be patients, service users, carers, family members or other lay people (including NHS staff from another organisation). The page contains answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the PSP role, including: What is the role of a Patient Safety Partner? What kinds of projects will I get involved with? Will I have any support? How much will I get paid for this role? What training will I receive? What is the time commitment? How long will I hold this role for? Do I need any experience? How will my work help the NHS? Do I have to live locally? Who should apply for this role?
-
News Article
NHSE director ‘concerned by 20% nursing gap’ amid push to tackle poor culture
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England’s national mental health director admitted she was ‘concerned’ that 20% of mental health nurse roles were unfilled and about the impact this could have on a nationwide push to improve safety and tackle closed cultures. Claire Murdoch was speaking to HSJ a year on from a series of high-profile documentaries exposing abuse and poor care at mental health trusts. In their wake, Ms Murdoch urged providers to urgently review safeguarding, while a separate three-year quality programme was also launched to look at closed cultures and improve safety. Now in the middle of that programme, Ms Murdoch stressed that stability in staffing is “vital” to developing safe and therapeutic care, but that many services across the country are struggling with significant nursing vacancies. She said: “The bit that absolutely we need to acknowledge [around changing cultures] is there are some significant workforce and staffing challenges, which I’m concerned about, with a 20%t vacancy of qualified registered mental health nurses nationally. “There are new support roles, psychology assistant roles, physician associates – there are all sorts coming into being in inpatient care, but a lot of services are still struggling with staffing". Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 September 2023 -
News Article
Staff feel ‘frozen out and ignored’ at ‘inadequate’ services
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Leaders of two maternity services have been told to take urgent action, after inspectors found understaffing and declining levels of care, despite safety warnings from midwives. Maternity services at University Hospital North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital have been downgraded from “good” to “inadequate” in Care Quality Commission reports, published today. The CQC noted a “concerning deterioration” in the care the two services provided, despite midwives telling managers they felt the service was unsafe. Sue Jacques, chief executive of County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, which runs the hospitals, said the CQC’s findings would be taken “extremely seriously”. The reports also said staff reported “feeling ‘frozen out’ or that their concerns were ignored by leaders” and that staff felt “‘continuity of carer’ was the trust’s main focus, despite depleted safe staffing levels, skill mix, and staff being pulled in to cover acute areas on a frequent basis”. Last year, trusts were told not to pursue continuity of carer models – which were previously championed by NHS England – unless they had adequate staffing levels to do so safely. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 September 2023 -
Content ArticleThe nurse-to-patient ratio represents the number of patients a registered nurse cares for during a shift. Most hospitals have guidelines to ensure safe staffing ratios, but staffing shortages have led to heavier nursing workloads. This article outlines which US states have laws and regulations in place for safe staffing ratios.
-
Content ArticleOne in three medical students plan to quit the NHS within two years of graduating, either to practise abroad or abandon medicine altogether, according to a survey published in BMJ Open. Poor pay, work-life balance and working conditions of doctors in the UK were the main factors cited by those intending to emigrate to continue their medical career. The same reasons were also given by those planning to quit medicine altogether, with nearly 82% of them also listing burnout as an important or very important reason. The findings from the study of 10,486 students at the UK’s 44 medical schools triggered calls for action to prevent an exodus of medical students from the NHS.
-
Content ArticleMost US healthcare organisations use staffing guidelines to decide a nurse's patient load on a given shift, but current staffing shortages are pushing nurse-to-patient ratios to the limit. In this article for Nurse Journal, registered nurse Alexa Davidson asks whether laws and regulations could prevent nursing workloads from getting out of control. She argues that mandated staffing ratios are a proven way to ensure patient safety. She describes the situation in Massachusetts and California, the two US states where laws have been passed mandating nurse-to-patient ratios, and outlines the implications of introducing ratios for nurses and patients.
-
Content Article
A strategy for the care workforce (TUC, August 2023)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Social care
The Trade Unions Congress (TUC) is proposing a new care workforce strategy for England, developed with trade unions and informed by the voice and experiences of care workers. This strategy document sets out the critical building blocks to ensure care workers are valued and supported, as a key means of addressing the current staffing crisis and improving access to and quality of social and childcare services. -
Content ArticleLeadership within the NHS has never been more critical. The need to support staff, remain resilient to the ongoing operational challenges create space to develop services which are locally responsive and inclusive are all pre-requisites for organisational success. However, for every leader there is also the need to know when it is time to move on, and the system can make that easier (or harder) to recognise and to act on. In this blog for BMJ Leader, Aqua’s Chief Executive Sue Holden looks at the issues facing senior NHS leaders who are having to function in ever-changing structures and a shifting culture. She asks whether innovative approaches to roles and contracts would allow the NHS to retain their skills and experience, while allowing new leaders to come through to senior positions.
-
Content ArticleIn 2011, the government acknowledged a large treatment gap for people with mental health conditions and sought to establish ‘parity of esteem’ between mental and physical health services. From 2016, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England made specific commitments to improve and expand NHS-funded mental health services. NHSE, working with the Department and other national health bodies, set up and led a national improvement programme to deliver these commitments. This report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee assesses progress made in delivering these commitments. The report acknowledges that NHS England has made progress in improving and expanding mental health services, but says this was "from a low base."
-
News Article
NHS 'to employ half of public sector by 2026'
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS workforce plan will cost £50 billion and result in the health service employing half the public sector by the 2030s, analysis concludes today. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has in effect “stolen more than a decade’s worth of budgets” from his successors by setting out plans to hire almost a million extra NHS staff without a clear way to pay for them, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. Hunt has been urged to use his autumn statement to start setting out whether tax rises, borrowing or cuts elsewhere will be used to fund the “massive spending commitment”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 30 August 2023 -
News Article
Close to 1m NHS appointments lost to strikes
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
The number of appointments and treatments postponed by strike action in the NHS in England is nearing one million. The 48-hour walkout by consultants in England last week saw more than 45,000 appointments being cancelled. It brings the total number of postponed hospital appointments since industrial action began in the NHS in December to 885,000. Once mental health and community bookings are included, it tops 944,000. The true total is likely to be even higher, as services have stopped scheduling appointments on strike days and these will not be included in the figures released by NHS England. Alongside consultants, junior doctors, nurses, physios, ambulance workers and radiographers have also walked out at various stages. NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: "Industrial action continues to have a huge impact on the NHS, and on the lives of patients and their families. This strike took place into a bank holiday weekend, when NHS activity is generally lighter, but many services have for some time avoided scheduling any planned appointments for strike days in order to prioritise emergencies. This means the true impact of this action will be even higher, and as we move into September, the extraordinary cumulative effect of more than nine months of disruption poses a huge challenge for the health service, as staff work tirelessly to tackle the backlog." Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 August 2023 -
News Article
Nurses caring ‘for too many patients’ as vacancy rates rise again
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Around one in ten NHS nursing jobs remain unfilled leaving already stretched service struggling to cope. The number of unfilled NHS nursing jobs in England has risen again after falling slightly earlier this year. Between March and June of this year, the number of vacant nursing positions across the NHS in England increased by 3,243 taking the total to a staggering 43,339. With the number of applications to study nursing also falling by a massive 13,380 in just two years, experts admit they are concerned about how the NHS is going to cope. In real terms, the figures mean around one in ten NHS nursing jobs remain unfilled. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned the high vacancy rate will leave the health service “underprepared” for winter. Read full story Source: Nursing Notes, 25 August 2023 -
News Article
NHSE calls urgent meeting over powers to strike off managers
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Amanda Pritchard has said it is time to ‘look again’ at whether NHS England should be given formal powers to disbar managers for ‘serious misconduct’. In an email to regional leaders and some national bodies yesterday, seen by HSJ, the chief executive officer of NHS England said the murder trial of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby has brought the issue of professional regulation for managers back into focus. She has planned an urgent meeting next week to discuss the options. Ms Pritchard said she wanted the meeting to explore; the feasibility of NHSE being given the powers and resources to act as a regulator; who this could apply to and how it could operate; and how a dedicated regulatory body for NHS leaders might fulfil the role. She stressed any new powers would need to be determined by the government, but said the NHS “should contribute proactively and fully, and with an open mind, to this decision-making process”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 August 2023 -
Content ArticleThis study in Intensive and Critical Care Nursing examined the association between safety attitudes, quality of care, missed care, nurse staffing levels and the rate of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in adult intensive care units (ICUs). The authors concluded that positive safety culture and better nurse staffing levels can lower the rates of HAIs in ICUs. Improvements to nurse staffing will reduce nursing workloads, which may reduce missed care, increase job satisfaction, and, ultimately, reduce HAIs.
-
Content ArticleGeorgia Stevenson discusses NHS England’s Long Term Workforce Plan, evaluating its potential to alleviate staffing shortages, enhance training routes, and ultimately improve care quality in maternity and neonatal services.
