Useful contacts/Resources
The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) facilitates collaborative working of the Public Health Observatories (PHOs) and their equivalents in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It provides a forum for disseminating good practice, sharing methodologies, coordinating action and providing a focus for links with national organisations.
www.apho.org.uk
Christmas Trees
The Christmas tree tool provides a useful tool for local planners. It gives a visual representation of the NHS workforce based on the NHS career framework and can be used to look at skill mix. It may be accessed via the National Workforce Projects and Workforce Review Team websites.
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/
Department of Health
Policy documents affecting the NHS and links to the NHS sites for England, Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales may be found on the Department of Health website
www.dh.gov.uk
Long Term Conditions Workforce Design Manual
This is a resource that was developed by the Long Term Conditions team. It can be downloaded along with the Workforce Change in Long Term Conditions Program at www.networks.nhs.uk
National Workforce Projects
National Workforce Projects supports a range of workforce related developments, undertaken to support national and local workforce planning. The 28 English SHAs and the Department of Health, sponsor them to bring a coherence and efficiency of scale to develop and deliver a range of workforce planning enablers.
Their Mission Statement is "An NHS expert body, demonstrating excellence in the development and implementation of 'best practice' workforce planning tools, skills and techniques and the research and dissemination of first class workforce intelligence."
Workforce planning guides and packs can be downloaded from the National Workforce Projects website. Examples include The Long Term Conditions Workforce Development Pack, Workforce Planning Step Guide; Competency based workforce planning and information on workforce planning drivers e.g. Planning for a 21st Century Workforce which is available on audio CD.
National Workforce Projects, their projects and tools can be accessed at: www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/nwp
National Statistics
The National Statistics website provides population and demographic data for England and Wales. It is possible to find information for Strategic Health Authorities and Local Authorities according to age.
www.statistics.gov.uk
www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk
NHS Scotland
The NHS Scotland website is known as SHOW Scot. Documents and policies for workforce planning affecting Scottish health services can be accessed from this site.
www.show.scot.nhs.uk
The National Workforce Planning Framework 2005 (for Scotland) can be found at
www.workinginhealth.com
NHS Wales
The NHS Wales website is on www.wales.nhs.uk
This site is known as Health of Wales Information Service (HOWIS) and is the host website for most information about policy and services including the newly formed National Leadership & Innovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH) and the Workforce Development, Education and Contracts Unit (WDEC). Follow the link to "What is NHS Wales" and then policies or the link to "Site Index" for the link to the NLIAH website and from there to the WDC pages.
Statistical information is also available through the STATSWALES website www.statswales.wales.gov.uk
NHS Northern Ireland
Information on the Department of Health and Social Services Northern Ireland is available at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk
Statistical information is available at the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) website www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/
Options for primary care
This report identifies, describes and analyses models of organisation and governance (legal entities) that could be adopted by primary care trusts (PCTs) for their provider services as they adapt to the current policy context of NHS systems reforms following Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS (Department of Health, 2005a), the NHS community services White Paper (Department of Health, 2006a), and the Government's open advocacy of third sector providers for statutory services. The report is intended as a practical, research-based resource for those considering their response to a policy environment that appears to expect contestability and plurality of provision.
www.hsmc.bham.ac.uk/news/OptionsforPrimaryCareNov06.pdf
Regional Government Offices
Through these websites it is possible to read about new developments, targets and priorities for the regions in England.
www.gos.gov.uk/national
Workforce Review Team (England)
The Workforce Review Team (WRT) works at national level on behalf of the NHS in England. From its analysis of evidence gained from the co-ordination and synthesis of intelligence from local, national and professional bodies and education authorities on demand and supply of appropriately skilled staff, it informs decisions about investment in training to secure a workforce that is available in the required numbers, with the required skills and in the right places to meet future staffing needs.
Tools that can be downloaded from this site include the Christmas tree and Service Configuration Diagram Tool.
The Workforce Review Team, their projects and tools can be accessed at:
www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/wrt
Workforce Planning for the NHS
Information on policy, guidance and tolls for workforce planning can be found on the following website which has links to the National Workforce Projects and Workforce Review Team (England).
www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk