Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the Workforce update - November 2023.

Cassie Williams, CEO of the GP Federation, presented the Haringey Borough Partnership Workforce update. The focus was on recruiting, nurturing talent, and integrating insights from health and care colleagues. The goal was to address any unexplored concerns from Haringey and reinforce the importance of workforce development. A workforce integration lead was hired through the training hub to address and work on this initiative.

The North Central London Integrated Care System (NCL) had pinpointed three main areas of focus which were workforce supply, development, and transformation, incorporating new care models and work approaches. On Governance, the People’s Board advanced initiatives in NCL, while in Haringey, the borough partnership had oversight over the workstreams such as the Neighbourhood and Health Inequalities Board, which handled workforce efforts. Early priorities for Haringey's Workforce Integration included entry-level recruitment, neighbourhood training, and workforce information dissemination.

The GP Federation's collaboration with Haringey Works had led to the local recruitment of numerous staff, which showcased efforts to maximise employment opportunities. Early initiatives in disseminating Workforce Information aimed to enhance the communication and address challenges within Haringey Borough Partnership.

The following points were noted in the discussion:

• Community Hubs such as the Northumberland Resource Centre, demonstrated effective collaboration. Integrated neighbourhood services worked to address frailty, and also involved multi-agency teams including the mental health trust, the Whittington, GP's, social workers, and the voluntary sector.

• Neighbourhood training involved multi-agency efforts which covered topics such as rough sleeping, CAMS care for suicide prevention, and had built awareness around gambling. The chair recommended that other examples of hub working should be shared with the Board.

• There were concerns about staff competition within the partnership and salary differences were acknowledged, and the Board was informed that development routes for all staff would be explored as part of this.

• It was noted in the meeting that further work was needed to enhance collaboration on the workforce and its integration with family hubs.

• Haringey tenant John Poulter raised concerns about delays and waiting times due to staff and resource shortages. Nadine Jeal, Clinical and Care Director for Haringey, assured ongoing recruitment efforts, including new roles, and expanded apprenticeships to address the issues, while acknowledging challenges in wait times and lists for services such as physiotherapy heavily impacted by Covid-19 pauses.

• Some community services, like heart failure and diabetes programs, were able to meet targets around time and reached deprived areas successfully. The Chair suggested an examination into national strategies, and Councillors were encouraged to promote these efforts, especially those related to schools in their wards.

• It was recommended that neighbourhood working should be a key focus in the workforce plan.

• There were challenges in connecting primary care and mental health services due to stretched recruitment. The current workforce efforts focused on entry-level recruitment to address the challenge.

ACTIONS:

• It was agreed that some example projects of workforce, how it has worked and lessons learned would be brought to a future Health and Wellbeing Board in 6 months’ time.

• Other examples of good practice in hub working should be circulated to members of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

• A fuller discussion on how to tackle issues around staff and resourcing in the NHS will be on the agenda for the next health and wellbeing board.

RESOLVED:

The update was received and noted.