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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/skills-for-health-partner-zone/2015/mar/20/preparing-healthcare-workforce-seven-day-working
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| Preparing the healthcare workforce for seven-day working | Preparing the healthcare workforce for seven-day working |
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| Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s national medical director, put seven-day services at the top of his agenda in the summer of 2014, saying: “We all know in our heart of hearts the service we offer at weekends isn’t as good, and we have to tackle that and do the right thing.” His speech to an NHS Improving Quality event in London also made clear the intention that quality seven-day services were to be his “number one priority”. There are few who would disagree, given recent reports of poor outcomes and mortality issues at the weekend and out of hours. However, there remains scepticism and resistance around the questions of how to implement this kind of change and how much it will cost individual organisations. | Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s national medical director, put seven-day services at the top of his agenda in the summer of 2014, saying: “We all know in our heart of hearts the service we offer at weekends isn’t as good, and we have to tackle that and do the right thing.” His speech to an NHS Improving Quality event in London also made clear the intention that quality seven-day services were to be his “number one priority”. There are few who would disagree, given recent reports of poor outcomes and mortality issues at the weekend and out of hours. However, there remains scepticism and resistance around the questions of how to implement this kind of change and how much it will cost individual organisations. |
| Changing the mindset to seven-day services | Changing the mindset to seven-day services |
| The question of “how?” causes much concern among some clinicians who, while agreeing with the principle, are concerned as to what this might mean to their work-life experience. Keogh, however, argues: “We have got to stop talking about ‘seven-day working’, where the emphasis is on the people delivering the service. We have to talk about ‘seven-day services’ and focus on the people receiving the services.” | The question of “how?” causes much concern among some clinicians who, while agreeing with the principle, are concerned as to what this might mean to their work-life experience. Keogh, however, argues: “We have got to stop talking about ‘seven-day working’, where the emphasis is on the people delivering the service. We have to talk about ‘seven-day services’ and focus on the people receiving the services.” |
| In order to understand how to make seven-day services in the NHS a reality, organisations have been invited by NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) to complete a self-assessment. This is benchmarked against Keogh’s national clinical standards in order to baseline their current position and to understand the gap in services to meet the requirements by 2017. In truth however, achieving seven-day services does lie with the workforce and crucially the relationship an organisation has with its employees. There are also a number of operational and financial barriers to seven-day services such as the expense of professionals’ time at the weekend and current contracts, which allow an opt-out of this unsociable work. | In order to understand how to make seven-day services in the NHS a reality, organisations have been invited by NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) to complete a self-assessment. This is benchmarked against Keogh’s national clinical standards in order to baseline their current position and to understand the gap in services to meet the requirements by 2017. In truth however, achieving seven-day services does lie with the workforce and crucially the relationship an organisation has with its employees. There are also a number of operational and financial barriers to seven-day services such as the expense of professionals’ time at the weekend and current contracts, which allow an opt-out of this unsociable work. |
| Putting patient safety first – every day of the week | Putting patient safety first – every day of the week |
| Clinical workforce management and deployment is inherently complex on ANY day of the week, requiring an understanding and adherence to a number of different sets of terms and conditions while seamlessly providing a safe service. With the drive to extend services into the weekend and improve safety outside of the normal working day, providers need tools in which to constantly monitor workforce levels and accurately predict and mitigate for future exceptions in workforce requirement matched to patient need. All this must be achieved while monitoring and maintaining the skills and competencies of all the staff appropriate to the service and ensuring patients are met by the right person with the right skills at the right time - be it Monday or Sunday. If an organisation has not got to grips with these elements of the workforce now then the task of implementing seven-day services will be that much more difficult. | Clinical workforce management and deployment is inherently complex on ANY day of the week, requiring an understanding and adherence to a number of different sets of terms and conditions while seamlessly providing a safe service. With the drive to extend services into the weekend and improve safety outside of the normal working day, providers need tools in which to constantly monitor workforce levels and accurately predict and mitigate for future exceptions in workforce requirement matched to patient need. All this must be achieved while monitoring and maintaining the skills and competencies of all the staff appropriate to the service and ensuring patients are met by the right person with the right skills at the right time - be it Monday or Sunday. If an organisation has not got to grips with these elements of the workforce now then the task of implementing seven-day services will be that much more difficult. |
| Access solutions to support this transition | Access solutions to support this transition |
| Skills for Health understands that it is the people and their skills at the heart of these necessary changes in mindset for the NHS, but is also experienced in developing the workforce in a collaborative and inclusive way. Organisations should be reassured that there are a range of resources such as e-rostering (Realtime Rostering) and Wired available to help plan and deliver services with the appropriate workforce than can flex to meet changing patient demand. Used wisely, the result will be a reliable, sustainable and efficient safe service where education and skills are maintained and monitored. | Skills for Health understands that it is the people and their skills at the heart of these necessary changes in mindset for the NHS, but is also experienced in developing the workforce in a collaborative and inclusive way. Organisations should be reassured that there are a range of resources such as e-rostering (Realtime Rostering) and Wired available to help plan and deliver services with the appropriate workforce than can flex to meet changing patient demand. Used wisely, the result will be a reliable, sustainable and efficient safe service where education and skills are maintained and monitored. |
| Keogh assures us the answers to the “how” and “how much” are starting to emerge and invites early adopter sites to promote their solutions and ways in which they surmounted the barriers to change. While we can all learn from one another, the solution that’s right for a specific service will be a reinvention or interpretation of the one that was right for next door; a simple “lift and shift” model won’t work as – importantly – the people will be different. | Keogh assures us the answers to the “how” and “how much” are starting to emerge and invites early adopter sites to promote their solutions and ways in which they surmounted the barriers to change. While we can all learn from one another, the solution that’s right for a specific service will be a reinvention or interpretation of the one that was right for next door; a simple “lift and shift” model won’t work as – importantly – the people will be different. |
| The way in which we employ professionals to work in the NHS may well change, as will the way we reimburse for working unsociable hours; however, the work in planning for seven-day services is needed now. | The way in which we employ professionals to work in the NHS may well change, as will the way we reimburse for working unsociable hours; however, the work in planning for seven-day services is needed now. |
| Visit our website to find out how Skills for Health can work with your organisation to improve seven-day working. | |
| Content on this page is produced and paid for by Skills for Health, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network’s workforce development hub | Content on this page is produced and paid for by Skills for Health, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network’s workforce development hub |