Health Management and Policy Alert

Strengthening NHS board diversity

NHS Confederation -
An independent taskforce asked to examine the diversity of healthcare leadership has said that NHS organisations can create a "sustainable pipeline" of senior leaders that properly reflect the diversity of their staff and communities by refreshing their processes for appointing chairs and non-executive directors (NEDs). The report, based on the feedback of taskforce members including NHS chairs, NEDs and chief executives, found that while there are pockets of innovation, the current NHS appointment process for NEDs would benefit from a standard, more transparent procedure.

• Report
• NHS Confederation - news

Public sector pensions

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee - 

This report finds that the Treasury has “done little to identify and manage the stark differences in average pensions between genders and other groups” and “should have foreseen the age discrimination issue that gave rise to the 2018 Court of Appeal McCloud judgment”.

• Report
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Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management

New Economics Foundation - 

The evidence cited in this report suggests that outsourced health facilities management services pose a threat to public health. This represents a major weakness in the UK’s ability to cope with subsequent waves of Covid-19. As a matter of public health, this paper recommends that: the government should launch an urgent and independent inquiry into the outsourcing of key workers, including cleaners, to assess whether, as the literature suggests, there is a link between outsourcing and higher rates of infection; and as a pandemic precautionary measure, all local authorities and NHS Trusts should immediately assess their portfolio of healthcare facilities management and sanitation workers, and examine opportunities to bring them in-house.

• Report
• More detail

Calculation of holiday pay under the NHS Handbook for regular voluntary overtime: equalities impact assessment

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This document, together with accompanying guidance, records the equality analysis undertaken for the calculation of holiday pay under the NHS Handbook for regular voluntary overtime to enable ministers to fulfil the requirements placed on them by the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The PSED is an ongoing duty which will continue to be monitored and reviewed.

• Impact assessment
• More detail

 

Workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care

House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee - 

This report finds that workforce burnout across the NHS and social care has reached an emergency level and poses a risk to the future functioning of both services. Only a total overhaul of workforce planning can provide a solution. Available funding was the driver behind planning, rather than the level of demand and staffing capacity needed to service it. The report further cites the absence of any ‘accurate, public projection’ of workforce requirements in specialisms over the next five to ten years.

• Report
• Press release

Review of the community pharmacy workforce: 2021 and beyond

Community Pharmacy Workforce Development Group (CPWDG) -  

The large-scale cancellation and postponement of health interventions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant and growing backlog, which is likely to take many years to manage. Community pharmacists and their teams will have an essential role to play in supporting the NHS, as a central part of the local health care system. This review sets out how the community pharmacy workforce needs to evolve with the needs of patients and the NHS.

• Review
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The Department of Health and Social Care mandate to Health Education England: April 2021 to March 2022

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The government’s mandate to Health Education England (HEE) is a requirement of the Care Act 2014. The mandate sets out the strategic objectives of the government in the following areas, for which HEE has responsibility: workforce planning; education; and training.

• Mandate
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Clinical radiology: UK workforce census 2020 report

Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) - 

The RCR's annual workforce census reveals huge shortages across radiology departments – both diagnostic radiologists who enable accurate treatment, and interventional radiologists who treat via non-invasive procedures. The RCR states that without significant investment in workforce, equipment and new ways of working, patients will suffer, diagnoses will be further delayed, and fewer patients will benefit from life-saving minimally invasive interventional radiology.

• Report
• Press release

Blood and body fluid exposures in 2020: results from a survey of RCN members

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - 

This report suggests that Pressures of the pandemic and a lack of training has led to a 50 per rise in needlestick injuries, a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) report suggests today. The authors surveyed 7,571 RCN members for the report. Of those 15 per cent said they had suffered a ‘sharps injury’ in 2020. This compares to ten per cent in 2008. Reasons for the rise cited in the report included fatigue induced by the pandemic, low staffing levels, lack of training and safer sharps and sharps bins not being available.

• Report
• Press release

 

Nursing workforce standards

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - 

These standards have been created to explicitly set out what must happen within workplaces to ensure the delivery of safe and effective patient care. Their launch marks the first time the RCN has set out detailed expectations for employers, regulators, and national organisations to support patient safety and enable the UK’s nursing workforce to deliver safe and effective care.

• Standards
• Press release