A major workforce optimisation programme has started at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with workforce planning specialists, SARD.
The programme will include engaging with its workforce to gain a greater understanding of clinical capacity and demand, and empower teams to make more informed decisions about workforce planning. This work will support optimised service delivery, safe and efficient patient care and adequate resourcing to promote staff wellbeing.
Discussing why the project was initiated and the progress so far, Dr. Nigel Scawn, Medical Director at Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Like many NHS hospitals, we are seeing a rise in demand for our services – coupled with an ageing population who have more complex health needs – so this project is a key part of our workforce strategy which will help to transform services to meet the future change in needs of local patients.
“We’ve completed the discovery and diagnostic phase, which included working with transformation leads, HR teams and our medical workforce to agree plans, review current policies, share SARD methodologies and understand their requirements.
“It’s been a complex, but critical, exercise because every specialty is unique and runs itself slightly differently. Information has been gathered from 303 job plans across the Trust’s 30 specialties and fed into a diagnostic report.”
Over the next twelve weeks, the Trust will focus on the fundamental part of the programme by working closely with clinical consultants to make enhancements to job plans and processes that are aligned with capacity and demand. The process will also involve benchmarking job planning against other NHS Trusts in England.
Dr. Scawn added: “At this stage, it’s about piecing all the information together to create a fuller picture of capacity and demand, which we can use to drive informed decisions and decide what resource we need and where. Ultimately, we’re looking to remove some of the peaks and troughs in our capacity and ensure we’re sufficiently resourced and distributed across our clinical areas. This balanced approach will help us make sure we’re using our resources effectively.”
Insights from the programme will support Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to plan better for future demand. The proactive approach will enable the Trust to devise clear and strategic recruitment plans, especially in areas where demand is anticipated to increase in the short-to-medium term.
In addition, greater oversight and improved job planning capabilities will support the Trust to reach the advanced levels of attainment for medical job planning set by NHS England. The framework ranges from level 0 to level 4 and published data from NHS England indicates that the national average is currently at 0.6. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is expected to be at level 3 on completion of the project.
The Trust also intends to share the outputs and learnings from the work with NHS England to help build a national picture and inform policy and planning.
Phil Bottle, Managing Director at SARD, said: “The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s commitment to redefine its job planning and transform operations is abundantly clear. The Medical Director, Nigel Scawn, and his team are fully embracing new ways of working to resolve long-standing challenges with workforce planning that many NHS trusts are facing. They are demonstrating that best practice goes beyond just deploying job planning systems. During the discovery stage, the engagement from the medical workforce has been fantastic and there is a desire to create positive change across the Trust.
"SARD’s ethical approach to workforce planning is led by service, staff wellbeing and sustainability so we are perfectly aligned with Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to deliver an effective long-term job planning solution that supports safe and effective patient care. We’re looking forward to helping the trust optimise its workforce planning in the same way we have supported other NHS Trusts including Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.”
The workforce strategy at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is part of an overall improvement programme across the Trust, focusing on improved care for patients and families and a greater emphasis on staff wellbeing. The Trust has three hospitals – The Countess of Chester Hospital, Ellesmere Port Hospital and Tarporley War Memorial Hospital – and provides services to 420,000 people across West Cheshire.
The project is set to be completed by April 2025.
