Independent Oversight and Assurance Group on Tayside's Mental Health Services: workplans

Theme: Workforce

Timescales: March to August 2022

Recommendations: 10, 18, 27, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50

What we need to know

Recommendation 10 - detail on the appraisal process that is in place and the evidence of staff engaging in appraisals across mental health services.

Recommendation 18 - need to hear more about plans for service redesign and implications for roles / skills / numbers of staff, in the context of ongoing vacancy and recruitment challenges.

Recommendation 27 - in respect of providing adequate staffing levels (inpatient GAP) to allow time for one-to-one engagement with patients, need to revisit the intended outcome and quantifiable evidence is required. Need to see evidence of what adequate staffing levels are, and the extent to which that is being achieved.

Recommendations 42 and 46 - need to know the extent to which staff engagement has been embedded within organisational culture and if it is not yet, what plans do colleagues have? What more do they have to do? In particular, what evidence is there that engagement is embedded at team level on a day-to-day basis, as well as more corporate engagement initiatives.

Recommendation 43 - previous submissions suggest that the Workforce Development Programme (to raise awareness and enhance understanding of policies and procedures that staff can use to enable them to raise concern in both formal and informal ways) only ran for a fixed period - need to clarify this and understand what the established practice is going to be.

Recommendation 44 - need to understand more about exit interview processes - how many have taken place? What does it tell us?  e.g. Where staff are exiting to (either within or outwith the health service) and if it’s outwith, what are the reasons for leaving (recognising that the take up of exit interviews may be low).

Recommendation 45 - need clarity on the medical structure which colleagues have advised has been set out previously. In particular, we need to clarify the decision around the creation (or not) of the Director of Mental Health post and need to understand the final position on Associate and Operational Director posts.

Recommendation 48 - what arrangement do colleagues have in place to take assurance in respect of bullying and harassment? Where is this reported? How do colleagues evidence their zero tolerance approach?

Recommendation 49 - with regards to staff absences, where is this reported to and what do those reports tell colleagues? How is stress related absence reported and actioned? Can we see trends?

Recommendation 50 - discussion needed as the Oversight Group are unsure of the direction taken here. Also, the incorporation of work with the local press has added confusion to the actions taken in response to this recommendation. Need to see evidence of the mediation and conflict resolution services that are available and how they are being used.  

Next steps

Discussion with senior workforce, OD and learning and development colleagues, including George Docherty, NHS Tayside Director of Workforce and other relevant colleagues.

Discussion with Jenny Alexander, NHS Tayside Board Employee Director.

Meet with Trade Unions.

Meet with employee groups who contributed to Trust and Respect.

Fully explore the contents of the evidence repository for the recommendations outlined above with the relevant recommendation owners.