In an informative panel discussion at Chamber’s Midlands Integrated Healthcare Seminar, leaders across health and care highlighted how staff retainment is crucial to overcoming challenges, improving staff and patient experiences, and boosting patient outcomes.
Held in partnership with IQVIA in Birmingham, the panel featured:
- Daniel Ratchford – Facilitator – Senior Director and General Manager UK & I Healthcare & Government IQVIA
- Georgie Dixon – Programme Lead, NHS Employers
- Emily Smith – Programme Lead, NHS Employers
- Michelle Hodgkinson – Director, Dearden HR
Impact of Covid on Workforce
Kicking off the discussion, Daniel Ratchford shared findings from an IQVIA report on the impact of Covid-19 on healthcare systems and professionals. Spread across six European countries including the UK, professionals expressed that the stressors in their jobs had been exacerbated by the pandemic. Respondents stated that workforce shortages, uncomfortable work environments, lack of life-work balance, increased workload, insufficient compensation, fear of infectious diseases, and the challenges of working remotely with patients were their sources of stress.
Markedly, Daniel discussed how the caseload increase within the UK is much larger than across other surveyed countries. Caseloads increased in the UK during Covid from 118 to 124. Workforce shortages, an uncomfortable work environment and lack of work-life balance ranked in the top three for causes of stress at work for healthcare professionals.
Daniel shared that without a committed and engaged workforce it is impossible to achieve set outcomes. Unfortunately, of all the countries surveyed, the highest numbers of dissatisfaction were reported in the UK. The Midlands area matched the figures reported nationally, illustrating a general consensus across the UK in terms of current staff challenges.
Daniel Ratchford, Georgie Dixon, Emily Smith and Michelle Hodgkinson (left to right)
Need to Focus on Retention
With the context set about the existing workforce-related challenges, Michelle Hodgkinson moved the discussion along to the impact this is having in terms of staff retention. Michelle shared that, within health and social care, 37% of staff are leaving their jobs every year and with the current trend in the sector, by 2030 it is projected there will be half a million vacancies.
This is a huge amount of shortages within the system, and correlates with the concerns of the staff surveyed by IQVIA. Michelle said it is clear that more of a focus in this area is needed. Not only is it a problem from a workforce engagement perspective, it is also a financial concern. Referring to the 10% of nurses leaving NHS Trusts per year, Michelle said that this costs each trust three million pounds each year.
As well as losing money, the health organisations also no longer have access to the staff’s skills and “organisational memories held in their hearts and minds” of everything that has happened since joining. This is vital information lost.
Although the NHS’s Long Term Plan does talk about supporting existing NHS staff, Michelle said there is so much more that needs to be done. Within the NHS England and NHS Employers Retention Guides there are many suggestions as to how to aid staff retention. These include looking at data, supporting new starters, flexible working, enhancing line manager relations, career planning and flexible retirement opportunities.
Michelle reinforced the importance of having conversation with employees and how this simple action can deliver valuable qualitative information about staff feelings and what they need to stay within the organisation. Within a radiotherapy operations delivery network in the south of England, Michelle and her team worked with them to ascertain workforce struggles, current vacancies and projected vacancies by analysing their Electronic Staff Record.
By being proactive and using data to ascertain this information, they could see more about the state of workforce engagement and retention needs. By implementing a simple “staying conversations” programme with their staff, they were able to understand more about their needs and have open conversations. As a result, leaving rates have dropped since the project’s completion.
Change is Possible
Speaking about the need to overcome workforce challenges, Daniel shared information about the organisations that are the best performing by driving staff engagement.
“There is a direct relationship between engaged staff and improved patient experiences. If patients are experiencing good care improved patient outcomes happen.”
There have been high levels of bullying and harassment within NHS reports, yet focus groups and targeted interventions have shown that things can change radically. In terms of staff engagement, Daniel cited a case study whereby the Chief Executive of a trust in England sent signed thank you postcards to members of staff to recognise their efforts and hard work. This simple initiative is cost effective, yet incredibly beneficial to enhance staff engagement.
Other activities to drive engagement include introducing more training opportunities, anti-bullying champions, improved reporting, talking to staff and enhanced staff appraisals.
Being an Anchor Employee
Georgie Dixon, Programme Lead for the Anchor Systems and Widening Participation NHS Employers Programme, spoke about the need for employees to act as Anchors within their communities.
“Being an Anchor employee means being a more inclusive employer, widening participation and offering more equity of access to jobs across our communities; driving and supporting that broader economic and social development by offering good work and skills development, interpersonal skills and social mobility programmes.”
Goergie spoke of the importance of NHS employers recruiting from a wider employment market to increase the ability of individuals from different backgrounds to access opportunities in health and social care.
Georgie and her team have established the Widening Participation Hub to share resources with employers about how to undertake grassroots community work, and encourage participation within wider sections of society.
Culture at the Heart of Integrated Systems
Elaborating on the theme of overcoming workforce challenges and supporting NHS employers to care for and engage their staff, Emily Smith spoke about the Systems and Integration Programme. Established to strengthen the connection around ICS workforce issues and NHS Employers, and the NHS Employers Confederation Network, the programme brings people together to champion and support the 1 Workforce Vision.
The team published a guide called Integrated Workforce Thinking Across Systems and set up a steering group to enhance communication, engagement and outcomes. Emily said:
“Successful workforce integration can provide a positive experience for people who draw on care and support in the context of their whole lives.”
Emily said that one of the challenges with integrated working is to do with cultural differences within organisations. Teams need to look at culture, language, challenges and their shared expertise to work more harmoniously, and ultimately deliver better person-centred care. One case study that achieved this is Hull and North Yorkshire ICB who set up the Jean Bishop Centre, a service for people accessing services related to fragility. By working proactively and establishing a service required by users that focuses on learning, up-skilling and great patient care, the centre has found applications for vacancies have increased. Creating a positive work culture, and beneficial environments for staff and patients is therefore crucial to an integrated workforce.
Proactive, Open Employers Make a Difference
When it comes to addressing workforce challenges, the panel was in agreement that supportive, proactive employers with open lines of communication with their staff are paving the way in how to overcome issues. Driving staff engagement through retention initiatives, and supporting a widening group of communities to access opportunities in the health and care services, is key to sustaining the UKs workforce. Acknowledging existing staff’s efforts, whilst taking advantage of the available resources about staff engagement were also referenced as being key to tackling some of the workforce issues. Ultimately it is an ongoing journey, but wider staff engagement is possible and is key to ensuring better job satisfaction for employees and boosting better patient outcomes.
