The Wakefield Health and Social Care Academy

We will develop a Wakefield Integrated Health and Social Care Academy. Initially we will explore the potential for a virtual Wakefield Health and Social Care Academy, including induction, a joint learning platform, training and development products scaled up and rolled out across Wakefield.

As part of this we will strengthen links with local communities, universities, education and learning providers. We will use this joint this joint approach to develop new roles.

The Academy is a key partner in responding to the district’s workforce challenges and our programmes have been developed under five key priorities:

• The Academy will create a talent pipeline, supporting staff across the system from entry into the sector through through a variety of training and education pathways.
• It will support system leadership, developing the skills and behaviours required to commission and deliver  integrated care.
• It will improve the quality of care by facilitating the sharing of good practice across organisational and professional boundaries. It will also deliver essential training programmes to health and social care staff across the system.
• The Academy will support the development of new roles and new ways of working by developing and delivering training programmes for care navigation, trusted assessors, reablement, telemedicine, mental health navigators and social prescribing.

International recruitment

We will explore the potential for a system-wide approach to international recruitment. There is a strong argument for the conducting international recruitment campaign as a place, with properly coordinated support packages, a variety of jobs on offer and a coordinated approach to recruitment.

Addressing workforce supply issues

Wakefield faces workforce shortages across the whole health and care sector. The social care sector in particular is facing significant recruitment and retention challenges. One consequence of the pandemic has been a significant increase in applicants for healthcare courses across our higher education institutes (HEIs). However, the number of learners that the system can support is constrained by the availability of appropriate placements. Addressing known workforce supply issues is a key priority.

As part of this priority we will work with partners on the development of a collaborative bank across NHS Providers in Wakefield District. We will build on the redeployment process and Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for shared staff redeployment developed during the pandemic. We will also explore ways in which we can enable staff who are approaching retirement to stay in the local health and social care workforce.

Adult social care recruitment and retention

The Wakefield People Board has identified significant issues with recruitment and retention in the domiciliary care and care home workforce. These issues are having an impact on the whole health and social care economy. There is a particular impact on our ability to discharge patients from hospital who require support at home. This issue requires a system-led approach so we will explore ways in which we can support the sustainability of domiciliary care and care homes.

As part of this project we will develop the role of the “Trainee Healthcare Assistant” as an entry route into health and social care.

Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs)

There are currently around 480 trainee ACPs working in West Yorkshire. We will explore the potential for a system-led approach to recruitment and management of ACPs. Rather than separate organisations competing for resources and poaching staff from each other we will look at whether a more collaborative system approach can be taken to recruitment, training and resource allocation. We will explore the potential for a similar approach to Trainee Nurse Associates (TNAs).

Placement capacity and learning environments

Our Health Education England (HEE) supported Learning Environment and Placement (LEAP) is bringing together partners to explore the opportunities for health and care placement expansion. We will support the expansion of placement capacity including blended placements within the HEE and HR teams.

We will develop and implement a Wakefield District Learning Needs Analysis Framework. We will also ensure plans and processes are in place to support our education and training pipeline.

Apprenticeships

We explore the potential for pooling the Apprenticeship Levy so that we can optimise the use of this resource across the system. This approach could also ensure that we target the levy at communities who are under represented in the workforce.

The Wakefield People Alliance has established a Recruitment and Retention Group. This group supports integrated system wide virtual careers fairs, which can showcase Wakefield careers to various audiences. The System Workforce PMO is working in partnership with Wakefield’s Economic Growth Step Up Programme to recruit a full time Step Up Project Manager.

Wakefield has developed an Adult Health and Social Care apprenticeship programme. Our Health and Care Hub Website is available and accessed by partners across the district. It acts as a repository for system wide workforce development resources. It is also a mechanism to publicise and sign post services, events and information to staff.  We also have a established Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership ‘Developing our Workforce’ Group.

146 international registered nurses commenced employment between August 2020 and February 2022. Five individuals were recruited through NHSI Refugee Nurse Pilot programme. The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust has established a programme of voluntary NHS Cadets for 14-19 year-olds from under-represented communities in partnership with St John’s Ambulance. The first cohort commenced in September 2021. The Trust has a virtual work experience offer that was delivered throughout the pandemic. There are also online careers sessions aligned to specific career pathways, such as therapies. These have been set up in partnership with local education providers.

The Trust is also providing training to organisations that recruit volunteers so that they can improve the quality of their volunteering programmes. They have a Volunteer-Wakefield website, promoting and advertising this across the district.

Wakefield has introduced “Career Conversations” for registered nurses and healthcare assistants. Alongside this, the “Suits You” nurse recruitment campaign has been offering flexible working arrangements. We have also established a sessional workforce staff bank for GP Care, vaccine activity and general practice resilience.