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This model of workforce planning deliberately puts people at the centre. It is expected that approaches to workforce planning are local in nature. Currently, Health Boards follow a national approach to workforce planning using the NHS Step Methodology. That information is sent to the Scottish Government to form a national picture. It would provide an interesting overview to help Partnerships plan for equality of access to services, and a useful context and sense checks for those at a partnership level to plan around local need.
A workforce-centred approach to workforce planning asks questions of the current regulatory system, in terms of how flexible it is to support integration in the longer-term.
Professional regulation has developed alongside public services, with each profession at a different stage of maturity, and professional regulators have defined scopes of professional practice in relation to past and present ways of working. Professional regulation makes an important contribution to public safety and professional standards of practice. However, the challenges of public service reform and the integration of health and care mean that regulators will need to ensure that regulation enables rather than inhibits new ways of working.
Historically, professions have defended their ‘right’ to work with particular groups of people, undertaking specific tasks and roles. It is likely that more generic codes of practice or standards could be used by groups of professions, and some functions shared across professions rather than being held by single professions. This does not mean that all professionals become generic, but that the approaches used to work with people become more aligned and professionals and those accessing services better understand the unique contribution that each profession makes to the system of care.
The NHS Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning.
The National health and social care workforce plan (Part 1 – NHS and Part 2 – Social Care) provides recommendations to support organisations which provide health and social care services to identify, develop and put in place the workforce needed to deliver safe and sustainable services to Scotland's people. Part 3 of the plan will be published in early 2018. Work arising from the recommendations in the three parts of the plan aims to enable the production of a combined Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in 2018.
Registration has an impact on workforce planning, as social service workers have to register with SSSC and must meet the requirements for registration in terms of their fitness to practise.
The role assigned by an employer to a worker determines the part (or parts) of the register that the worker must apply for. Registration requires workers to:
Registration is a major part of the drive for higher standards in social services and — with reference to the integration of health and social care and to multi-disciplinary practice in general — is bringing the social service workforce in line with other professional colleagues.
Those entering the social service workforce and registered with SSSC are required to adhere to the SSSC Codes of Practice. The Codes of Practice set out standards of practice and behaviour expected of social service workers and their employers.
Fitness to practise is a requirement for registering, and ongoing registration, with SSSC.
A social service worker is fit to practise if they meet the standards of character, conduct and competence necessary for them to do their job safely and effectively with regard to the SSSC Codes of Practice.
Implications for workforce planning include recruitment of workers who can meet, and continue to meet, registration and fitness to practise criteria.
The National Occupational Standards (NOS) in Social Services and Health Care form the basis of qualifications for the majority of social services workers, who are required to register with SSSC. The development and maintenance of common UK NOS for job roles plays a significant role in the mobility of the workforce across the UK. The NOS Navigator can also help you to:
The Scottish Government have worked with COSLA and other stakeholders to develop Health and Social Care Standards that apply across all health and social care. These will be rolled out from April 2018 onwards, forming the basis of the Care Inspectorate’s scrutiny model.
Planning for the future by the Scottish Social Services Council is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://learn.sssc.uk.com.