Safer staffing
Board assurance (Unify reports)
We take full responsibility for the quality of care provided to patients, and as a key determinant of quality, take full and collective responsibility for nursing and care staffing capacity and capability.
Our Board ensures there are robust systems and processes in place to assure themselves there is sufficient staffing to provide high-quality care to patients on all wards, clinical areas, departments, services or environments day or night, every day of the week.
We submit our staffing levels nationally on a monthly basis, and monthly data is reported to our Board. The report gives a percentage figure whereby 100 per cent would indicate a full, as-expected roster.
Where we see shift fill rates below 80 per cent and above capacity (where required for complex patients), we give reasons for the exceptions and inform the Board as to the required actions taken. You can view some of our reports, below.
From September 2018 onwards, this information is presented through our integrated quality and performance report.
Establishment reviews
We work together to review our inpatient staffing establishments on a six-monthly basis. We facilitate this as a workshop, with representatives from all of our care groups coming together to review our establishments.
This takes account of patient need first and foremost and in recent times has helped us to plan how we will increase our peer workers in our establishments as well as the new nursing associate role.
Please see below the reports that we prepare for our Board:
May 2020
January 2020
November 2018
May 2018
March 2016
September 2015
March 2015
September 2014
May 2014
March 2014
Inpatient staffing escalation policy (safer staffing exception reports)
We have a process in place for monitoring staffing on a shift-by-shift basis on all of our wards. There is also an inpatient escalation policy in place which details the process for escalating any concerns and ensuring actions are taken so as our wards are at a safe level for staffing.
Ward managers and service managers monitor this on a shift-by-shift basis and the ward manager will step in to work clinically if required due to staff shortages. By doing this, we are able to ensure we have qualified staff on duty at all times.
We are currently updating our inpatient staffing escalation policy and will share it here as soon as we have agreed it.
Please see below the reports that we prepare for our Board:
Recruitment and retention
We have ongoing work in place to address our recruitment and retention of staff. We address this in our professional strategies and our people strategy.
We are pleased that we are recruiting up to 100 per cent of our student nurses when they qualify. This is as much as a 60 per cent increase on two years ago. We have creative recruitment and retention initiatives and are currently being supported by NHS Improvement to implement a retention programme.
This is being led by the trust’s deputy director of nursing and practice, in partnership with the deputy director of HR and care groups. Our aim is to recruit and then retain committed and caring staff who have the required skills to best care for our patients in a sustainable way.
Please see our Nursing Strategy and People Strategy
