Health and social care services are in the process of changing, as set out in A Healthier Wales and the draft Workforce Strategy (which was created following feedback including Staff Surveys and widespread engagement). As health care colleagues, we have been working together to develop “how we do things”.
We know that nothing is static. The way we have had to work together through our collective response to Covid-19 has led to rapid changes which, in turn, has presented significant opportunities to improve our working environment. Our work and workplaces will, and can never, be the same (we can’t unknow and undo what we know now). This requires us to collaboratively develop a different set of expectations which support and challenge us as individuals, within groups/teams and as organisations. These expectations will culminate in a set of shared owned charter/promises/expectations/pledges.
Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, we had planned to develop an NHS Wales wide approach to our culture, to help us all be clear about our expectations and rights (similar to the Staff Governance Framework in Scotland). Moving beyond the immediate response to Covid-19, we need to use this as an opportunity to shape how we do things which will help support and enhance:
What are fair, together, healthy and compassionate workplaces?
Whilst each of us will describe a healthy compassionate workplace slightly differently, Professor Michael West and the Kings Fund highlights that we all need three things:
Autonomy: to make our own decisions
Belonging: feeling part of something with the people around us
Competence: being able to do our jobs
What we need to do and what we can expect from each other in the workplace are:
We are already seeing a change in our people policies including the updated approach to Managing Attendance at Work. During 2020-21, we will collectively agree the expectations and promises which will help us to update and improve all of our NHS Wales approaches (including policies).
We all have a role, but with ourselves in the middle.
Putting a greater emphasis on listening (#Gwrando) and hearing (#Clywed) is an important first focus for us all as we develop Healthy Workplaces across NHS Wales. This includes listening/hearing and paying attention to ourselves, to the people we work with and the people we provide services for.
How we will know success
Overall, the approach aims to:
We will assign measures to each of these outcomes and regularly review them in order to monitor progression.
How we are doing/will do this in HEIW
Phase 1 May |
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Phase 2 June |
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Phase 3 June-July |
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Phase 4 August |
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Phase 5 From June |
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How we are doing/will do this for NHS Wales
Phase 1 May |
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Phase 2 June |
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Phase 3 July-Nov |
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Phase 4 Dec-Feb |
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Phase 4 Mar 21 onwards |
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