| |
| Towards a New Way of Working |
|
| Purpose of the HR Strategy |
| Introduction |
| 1. The NHS, like many organisations, is
facing a period of accelerated change. In the next twelve months, we will be working in
different, new, organisations. The emphasis of the White Paper on organisational
performance, the priorities of effectiveness and clinical governance and on more effective
designed care will impact on all staff. The changes in Mental Health and Learning
Disability Services, the shift in emphasis to Primary Care and changes flowing from the
Acute Services review, will mean many staff working in different ways and requiring
different skills. |
| 2. The shape, structure and responsibilities
of our workforce are constantly changing, challenging our ability to recruit and retain
staff. Staff increasingly have different expectations about the pattern of their working
lives and what they expect from their employer. Professional staff need to continue to
adjust to the framework for Continuing Professional Development as a means of ensuring
their fitness to practice. Employers need to find the means of making real and sustained
investment in Lifelong Learning, Education and Training. In addition, they need to strike
the balance between a workforce which is effective and productive and a workplace capable
of recruiting, retaining and motivating staff. The workplace is also subject to increasing
amounts of regulation and legislation. It is important therefore to establish an approach
to Human Resource Management for the NHS based on consistency, and fairness and ending the
fragmentation which sprang from the internal market. |
| Purpose |
3. The purpose of this strategy for the NHS
in Scotland is to provide a meaningful and practical framework which will support change
and which will enable its staff to achieve the five established strategic aims of the NHS
in Scotland. Such an approach needs to create a proper balance between rights and
responsibilities, but as a priority must recognise the responsibility the NHS carries for
the quality and effectiveness of patient care. However as we face the challenge of
renewing the NHS in Scotland whilst implementing Trust Reconfiguration and the outcome of
the Acute Services Review, we need to ensure that:
- changes in service delivery and care requiring new skills are underpinned by investment
in education, training and development which balances the right of access and the
responsibility of staff to maintain appropriate knowledge and skills levels;
- as change impacts on employment and jobs, an employee relations framework is created
which gives staff the opportunity of real consultation, involvement and the ability to
influence decision making;
- an employment framework is put in place which offers employers flexibility and offers
staff modern employment practices based on equality of opportunity;
- workforce planning supports the development of a workforce which is flexible and
responsive and supports changes in service delivery;
- the environment in which staff work, is safe and secure, free from harassment and gives
people the opportunity to manage their own health and fitness;
- pay and reward is affordable, fair and flexible. Any future system should be simple and
should not require disproportionate effort to develop and maintain;
- our whole approach to the people in the NHS in Scotland is underpinned by a set of core
values which are applied consistently across the Service.
|
| Partnership - The Cornerstone to our
Approach |
4. To achieve the objectives set out in the
White Paper "Designed to Care", we need to change the way we work, train and
learn. The theme of Partnership, the cornerstone of the Government’s commitment to
renewing the NHS in Scotland, is no less relevant in managing our organisations and staff.
However Partnership will require more than relationships based on consensus and
understanding. It will require a practical framework which supports meaningful and
sustained change; not merely maintaining the status quo. It requires the commitment of
everyone to work consistently within such a framework.
- it will be a Partnership between all who share a common goal of implementing the White
Paper "Designed to Care" in the interests of better patient care;
- it will include external, independent contractors such as GPs in Primary Care and will
extend beyond individual organisations;
- it will be based on agreement that staff affected by change will be properly involved
and allowed to influence the shape and implementation of decisions which affect their
work.
Such an approach needs to be underpinned by a set of core values based on team working,
openness and honesty, mutual respect and recognition of individual contribution. However,
such an approach can only be measured over time by the practical changes that will occur
in the NHS. It is important therefore to create a framework which supports such change. |
| HR Capability |
| 5. It is clear from the pace of change and
the implications of both the White Paper "Designed to Care" and the HR Strategy
that we need further development and investment in our human resources. As a result we
will put in place arrangements to ensure increasing capability for the future both for HR
professionals and all those who have a responsibility for managing people. |
| Creating the Framework |
| 6. Managing staff is a workplace issue,
involving day to day practice. The White Paper "Designed to Care" is clear that
responsibility for managing services and staff rests with Trusts and Boards and is
committed to a system which avoids centralist control. However, it also recognises the
opportunity to work more cooperatively within a framework of common goals. The White Paper
acknowledges that "the internal market has resulted in unnecessary fragmentation of
policy and practice in the management of the NHS". |
| This has led to inconsistency and duplication
often leaving staff feeling uncertain and insecure. In order to begin to address this
situation, we need a partnership framework; one which supports Trusts and Health Boards,
as employers, to manage change locally but which provides staff, as employees with
consistency and fairness across the entire NHS in Scotland. In order to achieve that
balance the following framework will be established. |
| National Framework |
| Scottish Partnership Forum |
7. A Scottish Partnership Forum will be
established by September 1998, which will report to the Director of Human Resources, NHS
in Scotland, consisting of managers, staff, staff representatives and independent
advisors. We will consult on membership and composition. The Forum’s remit will be
to:
- support research and development in the areas of employment;
- establish a common approach to new employment legislation affecting the NHS in Scotland;
- provide advice on joint working and partnership;
- develop a framework for managing Human Resources in the NHS in Scotland;
- review key areas of employment practice to ensure consistency.
The first task of the Forum will be to review the full range of employment practices
and consult the Service to determine appropriate priority areas which can be developed
into a common template approach for the NHS in Scotland beyond Whitley. The Forum will
also support the work of two short life working groups. |
| Best Practice Steering Group (Support
Services) |
8. The Government has recently issued
guidance to the Service on the development of best value in support services. The guidance
stresses the integral nature of support services to the delivery of patient care. It
requires Trusts to examine positively the delivery, quality and cost of such services. In
order to support the development of the best value agenda, a short life Steering Group is
to be established by June 1998 which will provide advice to the Management Executive (ME)
reporting through the Director of Human Resources, NHS in Scotland. Its purpose will be to
:
- review the present pattern of support service provision in the NHS in Scotland;
- undertake research and provide advice on best practice in the delivery of support
services;
- provide advice on benchmarking and the development of business cases for best value in
the management of support services.
|
| Organisational Change Group |
9. An Organisational Change Group, will be
established by June 1998 on a short term basis to deal specifically with Trust
reconfiguration issues arising out of the White Paper "Designed to Care". It
will report to the Director of Human Resources, NHS in Scotland with the following outline
remit:
- establish common policies for managing change;
- establish the legal framework to facilitate the required changes e.g. staff transfer,
employment issues, protection, etc; and
- avoid duplication and reduce bureaucracy.
|
| Framework and Reporting Arrangements |
| 10. The diagram below illustrates the
reporting arrangement of this new framework. |
|
| Local Framework |
| Partnership Agreements |
11. To demonstrate commitment to working
together, all NHS in Scotland employers of Trusts and Health Boards will be required to
develop a Partnership Agreement with staff and their representatives. These agreements
will be subject to audit and reporting to Boards by joint staff/management forums. As a
minimum these agreements will contain the following:
- communication and consultation arrangements, beyond those contained in existing Whitley
agreements;
- access to information and Board meetings; and
- organisational change policies.
|
| Monitoring Arrangements |
12. The Priorities and Planning Guidance for
the NHS in Scotland for 1998/99 requires Trusts and Health Boards to develop a local Human
Resource Strategy. In particular, the guidance emphasised the role of Chairmen and Chief
Executives in the development of such a strategy. Building on this approach the following
measures will be required:
- Trusts and Health Boards will be required to report progress on the development of
partnership working to support their Health Improvement Plans (HIPs) and Trust
Implementation Plans (TIPs);
- Employers will be expected to measure themselves in a clear and objective way against
the requirements of the principles included in this HR Strategy;
- Progress in implementing these plans will be monitored through Accountability Reviews
and Trust and Health Board Annual Reports;
- The Scottish Partnership Forum will provide advice and support in the development of
such arrangements in order to provide consistency and reduce duplication of effort.
|
| Future Direction |
| 13. The development of this Strategy has
involved consultation with over 1,000 members of staff in workshops, working groups and
has had input from people from a variety of other organisations. This consultation has
identified a sense of real commitment from all concerned to support the Government in its
objectives. Equally all those involved were clear that the success of "Designed to
Care" will be influenced, in no small measure, by effective relationships in the
workplace. It is important therefore that the strategy is clear on objectives, practices
and actions in order to demonstrate real change over time. |
| What this means |
| 14. The establishment of an HR Strategy for
the NHS in Scotland will affect us all in different ways. The paragraphs below give an
indication of what the strategy will mean to people regardless of where they work. |
| What this means to me.... |
| The individual |
15. The HR Strategy means that individuals
can expect, over time :
 Consistent
treatment in employment practice no matter where they work.
Access to individual training and development plans/portfolios.
The opportunity to learn new skills and be involved in a wider
range of tasks.
To be rewarded fairly and with consistency.
Changes in the working environment which are planned and managed.
To have available the benefits of a good employer.
To be able to work more flexibly to benefit patient care.
|
| The Line Manager |
16. The line/clinical manager can expect over
time:
- Clear
policies and processes about how to deal with people in employment.
Training and development will be provided to help fulfil their
responsibilities.
To work in partnership with staff and staff representatives.
To lead service changes in a different way.
|
| The Trust and Health Board |
17. For the NHS in Scotland the HR Strategy
means:
- The
practical implementation of the overall HR Strategy will be linked
to HIPs and TIPs.
The Service will develop a common set of values, based on new
behaviours.
Change will be managed consistently, in partnerships within and
outwith the NHS in Scotland.
|
