Health and social care: safe and effective staffing consultation

2. This Consultation

2.1 This consultation paper invites views on proposals to introduce legislation that will require organisations providing health and social care services to apply nationally agreed, evidence based workload and workforce planning framework, methodologies and tools; ensure that key principles - notably consideration of professional judgement, local context and quality measures - underpin workload and workforce planning and inform staffing decisions; monitor and report on how they have done this and provide assurance regarding safe and effective staffing.

2.2 The introduction of these requirements are intended to further ensure - and assure - safe and effective staffing and strengthen and enhance the arrangements already in place to support continuous improvements in workforce planning and employment practice across Scotland.

2.3 The proposals build on the progress made through the Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning Programme. Ongoing experience and learning from this programme, nationally and locally, will inform detailed development of the proposed legislation.

2.4 This paper has been divided into the following sections:

3: Existing approaches

4: Proposed requirements on organisations

5: Monitoring of the statutory requirements

6: Equality Considerations

7: Responding to the consultation paper

Annex A: Consultation Questionnaire and Respondent Information Form

Annex B: Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment