The workforce supply project at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Our learning from the project

“We learnt so much from this project, the reconciliation of all our Electronic Staff Records (ESR) data was the first learning point. Without having reconciled this, we could not proceed with any work. We had to understand all the codes and ensure our workforce were coded correctly on the system and mapped to the right professional group.

“The second learning point for us was understanding why Torbay had a 25% turnover of staff leaving within the first year of their role, a higher percentage than the national average. We needed to get a better understanding of why staff were leaving and importantly what we could do to help with that. Consequently, we undertook a band 5 survey which provided us with some good insights on where we needed to be going with retaining our workforce. For us to target specific areas and know what is truly going on with our workforce and how we can support them, I now get a monthly ESR report which highlights exactly what our staff turnover rate is; what our sickness rates are and where our vacancies are. 

“The third learning point for us was understanding the detailed aspects such as international recruitment and how that works in terms of funding. Without being involved in the project and without the information supplied by HEE, we would not know as much as we do now, the project enabled us to have the time to focus on gaining this understanding.”

The difference at Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust following the project and how it helped the organisation

“Following the band 5 survey, I developed a survey for our support workforce, which we then rolled out across the whole of Devon. At Torbay we developed a shared decision-making council which has allowed AHPs to have a stronger voice in the organisation and feel more valued in the trust. We have also followed the pathway of excellence pilot running in the trust for nurses and created a similar pathway for AHPs.

“There has been a lot more focus on the return to practice (RtP) pathway and have seen high rates of returning occupational therapists (OTs) since the project started. We are also looking to host RtP recruitment events that anyone in Torbay who wants to RtP can join.

“We have an effective system in place working closely with our recruitment team. They come along to our RtP recruitment events and interested returners can then be interviewed during the event and can even be offered a position straight away. Alongside this, to boost recruitment, we have had videos created portraying what it is like to work in each AHP service within our trust. These videos are uploaded to our trust’s social media channels and sit on our new AHP public facing webpage that we are currently developing.

“The organisation has now got a multi-professional approach when focusing on workforce retention. I have worked very closely with the other two retention leads and together we have piloted a strength-based leadership programme for AHPs. This programme is very individually tailored and those undertaking it receive coaching and will be signposted to the best resources to help them throughout the duration of the course. This provides a fantastic opportunity for our AHPs as it targets one concern highlighted from the surveys – the need for increased leadership training.

“To provide further career guidance for our support worker staff, we are looking to develop a Devon wide e-passport of skills for all support workers. This is going to be an electronic booklet which highlights the skills required for each band. Staff will be able to map their current skills against what they need to move up to the next band, as well as what the trust can do to support them with this process.

“We have introduced ‘stay conversations’ which we are currently piloting across our occupational therapy, nursing and midwifery teams to help improve retention of our workforce. These conversations will give staff the opportunity to discuss how they are feeling in their role; if they have recently thought about leaving and why this was, as well as what the trust can do to help improve things if needed. These conversations will take place every so often throughout a year with an individual’s line manager to tackle any problems that may have arisen.

“To further help with retention of our band 5 staff, we have focused on our electronic learning system where staff complete their mandatory training and have set up an AHP page. Within this we have generic competencies, which are in line with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) competencies, for all band 5 staff to complete. In addition, there are profession specific competencies.”

The impact the project had at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and the value of HEE’s input

“We are looking to grow our support worker workforce within our trust and one of the things which I have done in podiatry is create a legacy post where we retain the retiree. This would be a staff member who was looking to retire and return. However, instead of retiring and returning back into the same post, they return into a post where they can support the newest staff members. This helps with retaining our band 5 staff as they are provided with increased support and mentoring.

“Having more staff, particularly AHPs with the right skills, allows us to provide optimised care throughout our trust. This means a patient does not have as many touch points during their recovery and are effectively discharged faster. Staff will also have more opportunities to focus on preventative work and further reduce the number of unplanned admissions to the trust.

“The project has increased the AHP profile, AHPs are recognised, understood and valued more now across the trust than before the project started – we now have a seat at the table. We have stronger working links across the trust, and I now attend monthly meetings with the non-medical education lead to plan what we need to invest in for AHPs to ensure we have the right training in place for them.

“Without HEE’s funding there wouldn’t have been any improvements. For myself and my AHP colleagues, the project has created a network of support that was not there before. It has been nice that all the workforce leads came into post at a similar time to the faculty starting in Torbay and South Devon. It has meant that everyone started this work in a similar position.”

Personal impact of the project

“Personally, the project gave me an opportunity to step away from podiatry with the knowledge that I could step back into it if I wanted to. Being in this role and involved in the project has increased my knowledge across all areas of workforce e.g. international recruitment, apprenticeships and support workforce frameworks. I have been able to create links for the future with colleagues from across the workforce through my work on RtP, the AHP workforce strategy and service planning.”