The government has published its response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report on workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care, which, in June last year, made 18 recommendations around workforce planning, the impact of the pandemic, the scale of burnout and workforce culture.
Responding to the report, Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed new plans for NHS leadership and accountability, a strategy for implementing the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and a System Workforce Improvement Model are being developed. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has also commissioned HEE to re-examine ‘Framework 15’ with a view to publishing a new version.
‘Our Leadership Way’ has been developed by NHS England & NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to set out a new approach to senior leadership. It will: “establish the competencies, values and leadership behaviours we expect from NHS leaders so they can lead to the best of their ability. Leadership and culture will be at the core of how NHS leaders’ performance is measured, and this will be reflected in the accountability of the NHS through an updated NHS Oversight Framework and Care Quality Commission Well-Led Framework.”
The long-term strategy for implementing WRES will examine the efficacy of existing Model Employer goals, and explore the possibility of Integrated Care Systems (ICS) setting their own ICS Model Employer goals. The Health Secretary also confirmed: “As part of the wider ICS development work underway, a System Workforce Improvement Model is being developed to ensure that future workforce within ICSs are reflecting the equality, diversity and inclusion priorities of NHSEI.”
Framework 15, first created in 2013 and refreshed in 2017, sets out the drivers of future workforce demand and supply focused on healthcare. The review that HEE has been asked to lead, working closely with DHSC, NHSEI and Skills for Care, will for the first time include registered professionals working in social care. This aims to reflect the interlinked nature of health and social care, as well as the arrival of ICSs.
The response also reiterates the framework and interventions to support staff to recover, which was developed by the People Recovery Taskforce. This taskforce was convened by the NHS to inform priorities for the2021/22 and 2022/23 operational planning guidance. “This includes making full use of the annual leave policy, flexing it to create additional options for staff and enhancing mental and occupational health support. Supporting staff recovery and their health and wellbeing is also a major factor in improving retention so that we have enough staff to restore services in a sustainable way,” the response states.
