Health managers from NHS providers across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin have come together for a celebration event to mark the completion of a workforce planning development programme delivered in partnership with Skills for Health.

Effective design, development and deployment of the workforce is one of the most important things required to underpin Integrated Care System (ICS) sustainability in the short, medium, and long term. The challenges cannot be understated:

• The workforce challenge - Ensuring the right skills are available to achieve consistent health benefits for the local population; 
• The transformation challenge - Achieving greater service integration while meeting financial imperatives; 
• Changing population health needs - Meeting health and care needs in the context of rising demand and complexity across the ICS. 

At its simplest, effective workforce planning ensures you will have a workforce of the right size, with the right skills, organised in the right way, within the budget you can afford, delivering the best possible services.

This programme was designed to give delegates the tools and knowledge to understand and apply a methodology that enables a planned approach to workforce planning.

Sara Hayes, Deputy Chief People Officer for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “We were delighted to partner with Skills for Health to offer this programme to our system colleagues, and we have been pleased by the enthusiastic response.

“The feedback has been extremely positive, and we should reap the benefits through effective workforce plans that meet the needs of the communities we serve in the years to come.”

Programme participants took part in an initial planning workshop and three ‘learning through action’ virtual sessions ahead of the final ‘show and share’ celebratory event, which was held at Shrewsbury Town Football Club earlier this month.

Delegates were introduced to the six key steps to integrated workforce planning, which they were encouraged to follow in developing their plans for their individual areas. The six steps are: 

1. Define the plan 
2. Map the service change 
3. Define the required workforce 
4. Understand workforce availability 
5. Develop an action plan 
6. Implement, monitor and revise.

Representatives from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), Shropshire Community Health Trust (SCHT) and The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RJAH) all took part in the programme.

They have been working on important system projects including Diabetes Transformation, the STW Hospital Transformation Programme and the MSK Transformation Programme.

Some of the delegates focused on service specific plans within an individual organisation, including pharmacy, blood sciences and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) at SaTH. 

The celebration event allowed them to showcase the progress they have made, demonstrate how the six steps have supported them on their journey and share the challenges and obstacles they have encountered along the way.