Health and social care: safe and effective staffing consultation

4. Proposed Requirements on Organisations

4.1 The proposed new requirements would:

• Apply to organisations providing health and social care services, including but not limited to NHS Boards, Local Authorities and all organisations providing services regulated by the Care Inspectorate. It would also apply to organisations providing services on behalf of Integration Joint Boards.
• Be applicable only in settings and for staff groups where a nationally agreed framework, methodology and tools exist.

4.2 Requirements would apply at an organisational level and would not apply to individuals providing services.

4.3 The intention is that there will be a requirement that an organisation providing health and social care services must 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; and monitor and report on how they have done this and provide assurance regarding safe and effective staffing.

What would be required of organisations

4.4 Organisations would be required to:

• Ensure a consistent and systematic application of available nationally validated workload and workforce planning framework and tools.
• Ensure consistent and systematic application of available, nationally agreed professional judgement methodology and tools.
• Ensure a consistent and systematic review of quality measures, provided by a nationally agreed quality framework.
• Apply and analyse outputs from the tools utilising a triangulated approach to justify decisions and describe the process of assurance that there is safe and effective staffing in place.
• Actively foster an open and honest culture of safety and learning, which reflect the values in "Everyone Matters 2020 Workforce Vision" ^[23] and Staff governance and other relevant standards where all staff feel safe to raise concerns regarding safe and effective staffing, and have mechanisms to do this.
• Ensure that professional and operational managers and leaders have appropriate training in workforce planning in accordance with current guidance.
• Ensure effective, transparent monitoring and reporting arrangements are in place to provide information on how requirements have been met and to provide organisational assurance that safe and effective staffing is in place, including provision of information for staff, patients and the public.

QUESTIONS

Purpose

1. Do you agree that introducing a statutory requirement to apply evidence based workload and workforce planning methodology and tools across Scotland will help support consistent application?

2. Are there other ways in which consistent and appropriate application could be strengthened?

Scope

3. Our proposal is that requirements should apply to organisations providing health and social care services, and be applicable only in settings and for staff groups where a nationally agreed framework, methodology and tools exist.

3A Do you agree that the requirement should apply to organisations providing health and social care services?

3B Do you agree that the requirements should be applicable in settings and for staff groups where a nationally agreed framework, methodology and tools exist?

4. How should these proposed requirements apply or operate within the context of integration of health and social care?

Requirements

5. A triangulated approach to workload and workforce planning is proposed that requires:

• Consistent and systematic application of nationally agreed professional judgement methodology and review of tools to all areas where current and future workload and workforce tools are available.
• Consistent and systematic consideration of local context.
• Consistent and systematic review of quality measures provided by a nationally agreed quality framework which is publicly available as part of a triangulated approach to safe and effective staffing.

Do you agree with the proposal to use a triangulated approach?

6. Are there other measures to be considered as part of the triangulation approach to workload and workforce planning? If yes, what measures?

7. Given existing staff governance requirements and standards are there sufficient processes and systems in place to allow concerns regarding safe and effective staffing to be raised?

8. If not, what additional mechanisms would be required?

9. Do you agree with the proposal to require organisations to ensure that professional and operational managers and leaders have appropriate training in workforce planning in accordance with current guidance?

10. Do you agree with the proposal to require organisations to ensure effective, transparent monitoring and reporting arrangements are in place to provide information on how requirements have been met and to provide organisational assurance that safe and effective staffing is in place, including provision of information for staff, patients and the public?

Future approach and priorities

11. Do you agree with our proposal to consider extending the requirement to apply nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning approach to other settings and/or staff groups in the future?

A. If yes, which staff groups/multi-disciplinary teams should be considered?

B. If yes, which other clinical areas/settings should be considered?

Risks and unintended consequences

12. Are there any risks or unintended consequences that could arise as a result of the proposed legislation and potential requirements?

13. What steps could be taken to deal with these consequences?