Board meeting date: 1 May 2018 Agenda Item number: 8.1.3b Enclosure: 15 Report Title: Workforce Committee Chair s Report Committee: Author: Workforce Committee Pawiter Rana Non Executive Director Action required from the Board Decision / Approval Gain assurance Introduction Discussion Information The Workforce Committee met on the 27 th April 2018 and considered and discussed key topics around the Trust s Workforce. The Workforce Committee agenda is categorised under 4 main areas, i.e. - Workforce Performance - Staff Wellbeing - Organisational Development - Workforce Compliance Summary of key points, issues and risks WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE Workforce Performance Report Month 12 The Committee commented that overall there has been strong workforce performance for 2017/18. Vacancies There are currently 98 Full Time Equivalent contracted vacancies across the Trust meaning the vacancy rate has decreased from 9.8% in Month 11 to 8.7% in Month 12, this is the lowest vacancy rate in at least 3 years. The Trust will be focussing on reducing the clinical vacancy rate from 11.9% to under 10%. Turnover The 12 Month Turnover rate has decreased from 13.65% to 13.32%, this is the second consecutive decrease, corporate areas turnover is beginning to stabilise. Sickness Absence The rolling 12 month sickness rate has increased slightly from 4.27% in Month 11 to 4.38% in Month 12, this is within the Trusts target and the sixteenth consecutive month of being so. In month sickness has decreased from 4.40% in Month 11 to 4.18% in Month 12. Appraisal Compliance has increased from 80.6% in Month 11 to 85.4% in Month 12, which is above the Trust target of 85%. Enc 15 WFC Chairs Report Page 1 of 5
Mandatory Training - Mandatory Training compliance has increased slightly from 90.1% in Month 11 to 90.2% in Month 12 and is in line with the target of 90%. Essential Skills Training compliance has increased to 79.00% in Month 11 from 75.22%, this is below target but has been on an upwards trajectory from the last 12 months. For future reports the two will be combined as reported as Mandatory Training Appraisal Compliance Whilst the Month 12 position for Appraisals is above the target compliance rate i.e. 85% the current position has seen a decline in compliance i.e. 73%. Specific actions around introducing manager self-service to input appraisals directly into ESR and the use of e-rostering to protect time should increase the compliance rate. Workforce Plan The draft workforce plan for 2018/19 was presented. This is a refresh of the Trust s 5 year workforce plan and is linked to the Trust s financial plan. It was agreed that a summarised version of the plan will be developed which more easily identifies the workforce plans by service lines and underpinning strategies which will support delivery. E-Roster update The Committee received assurance that the Trust has implemented E-Rostering. Improvements have also been made with the use of temporary staffing. The change to weekly pay and rolled up WTD holiday pay for bank staff has been agreed by the Committee and we will look to implement in May. Further assurance is required on how e-rostering can support effective Workforce Planning and compliance with training/supervision. HEALTH AND WELLBEING Health and Wellbeing plan In line with the national on your feet campaign this agenda item was presented whilst members were on their feet. The health and wellbeing operational group have planned a series of events and initiatives for 2017/18 to support the wellbeing of staff, these coincide with national initiatives. The focus for quarter one and two will include: physical activity awareness standing/walking meetings, walk to speak to colleagues rather than emailing, use the stairs rather than the lift, lunch time walks mental health awareness week in May will focus on mindfulness, a stress survey, lunch and learns for managers to support staff who exhibit signs of stress healthy heart and nutrition campaign keeping safe in the sun for summer smoking cessation support in line with the Trust s ambitions to become smoke free Quarter 3-4 campaigns are being developed. Enc 15 WFC Chairs Report Page 2 of 5
ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Non-Medical Prescribing An update was given on the number of staff being trained as non-medical prescribers. There is currently 10 non-medical prescribing trained staff within an additional 2 currently in training. A further 30 members of staff have been identified for the training and this will be completed within the year. Discussion took place around ensuring that staff who are trained have the capacity to prescribe and that this fits with service line workforce plans. Learning Development Agreement A summary of the Trust s LDA income to the Trust for 2017/18 was presented, which has been helpful in identifying where funding has been received for postgraduate and undergraduate Medical workforce as well as for the wider workforce. Nationally LDA monies have been reduced for Trusts and a piece of work is being undertaken nationally to understand the implications for Trusts who are supporting the continued professional development of their staff. Maximising ESR An update report was presented on how the Trust will maximise ESR usage. ESR has been updated nationally and is more intuitive to use as well as being accessible via devices such as tablets/smart phones and through an internet connection. The priority for Quarter 1 will be the roll of Manager Self Service and Employee self-service which will enable managers to enter appraisal data themselves and run reports for their own staff and enable staff easier access to e-learning and their personal data. There is also the potential to remove paper payslips as staff can access these on line and support the Trust s ambitions in being paper light. Band 5 Inpatient Recruitment A recruitment plan was presented for Band 5 nurses in Inpatients. The Trust has been proactively recruiting to Band 5 and had demonstrated a reduction in vacancies, however recent opportunities for career progression in community services has resulted in an increase in the vacancy rate. There is currently a 25% vacancy rate for inpatient nurses, however with provisional appointment made this is reduced to 14.22%. Current recruitment initiatives in place include. Rolling Band 5 advert on NHS Jobs Participation in Job Fairs Utilising Social media Fast track for student nurses from feeder universities Ward mangers owning their own recruitment Improvements being made to information available to candidates about clinical areas Career pathways and information about preceptorship, career pathways, CPD included in packs Process being put in place to gain feedback from Band 5s who have gone through the recruitment process TRAC monitoring Improved information about flexible working opportunities and staff benefits. Enc 15 WFC Chairs Report Page 3 of 5
The Trust has also joined the NHSI Recruitment and Retention programme and has 90 days to develop a retention plan with a reduction target. The plan will draw on innovation examples from other Trusts and also include staff focus groups to ensure it includes what matters to our nurses. The Head of Service has commenced focus groups with Ward Managers and staff to inform this work. The Committee will receive the draft retention plan and be asked to support the priorities for improvement. WORKFORCE COMPLIANCE Workforce Risk Register The Committee received the workforce risk register and the Committee was assured that the risks are being appropriately managed. The Risk Register was reviewed and it was agreed to increase 376 Supervision system to a red risk. A risk has been identified by Mills and Reeves as a result of the longstanding secondment agreement through the section 75 agreement for social care staff who are seconded to the Trust. There is a risk that staff could challenge the secondment arrangements and argue that TUPE is relevant, however mitigations are in place to reduce this and this will be added to the Workforce Risk Register. Safe Staffing Levels Across the inpatient areas the overall fill rates are 99.99%, with 97.33% for registered staff and 101.66% for care staff. This indicates the Trust is meeting the optimum level of fill rates. Typically where our care staff rates exceed 100%, this is due to temporary staff being used to support patient observations, increases in acuity or changes in skill mix. Ward managers and Clinical Leads are empowered to be responsive and flex staffing to meet patient acuity. Kinver is the only ward to report staffing in the lower range, but was safely staffed. An impact assessment has been completed that provides assurance that safe staffing levels have not been compromised. A high proportion of nights are covered by two RMNs for Kinver. Where staff have concerns about staffing levels the reporting takes place through the Trusts incident reporting processes. In March there is one incident reported related to safer staffing in inpatient services. WRES Benchmarking A national WRES benchmarking report was presented, it does highlight positive action being taken to improve the experience of BME staff but also highlights areas where improvements need to be made. In 2017, (based on the 2016 WRES) the Trust was pleased to have been found by the NHS Equality & Diversity Council to be placed as the third top performing Trust for BME staff experience in experiencing harassment, bullying and abuse from patients, public and relatives appears which is better than average and continues to improve. Enc 15 WFC Chairs Report Page 4 of 5
The Trust has updated its 2018/19 WRES action plan and also continues to work with MERIT Partners for Equality, Diversity and inclusion initiatives. The Trust will be carrying out events during Equality and Diversity week 14 th 18 th May and will be establishing a BME and a Disability network. WRES Audit The committee reviewed the audit report on WRES and associated recruitment for BME staff and agreed that the audit should be repeated using more accurate and available data from the TRAC recruitment system. Board Assurance Framework The committee reviewed Strategic Risk 4 Ability to Recruit and Retain Staff and agreed that whilst the risks are being appropriately managed it should remain as an amber risk due to national and local supply issues and the Trust s clinical vacancy rate. Recommendation and requests for direction The Trust Board is asked to: Accept this report for assurance about the exercise of delegated authority by the Workforce Committee Enc 15 WFC Chairs Report Page 5 of 5