Welcome
I am delighted to present the Health and Social Care Economic Partnership annual report for 2021-22. Our team have continued to work hard with partners this last year, during a time of continued change, as we have emerged from the height of the pandemic and settled in to a new normal. This has included delivering an extensive range of projects that support the delivery of our Health and Social Care Integrated People Plan, as well as meeting other Anchor Partnership needs. The current phase of our programme is however drawing to a close, so this report also reflects on how much we have achieved over the past three years. It also gives us the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding partnerships that we have in place across Bradford District and Craven that enable us all to go that extra mile, and make the most of future opportunities as we step into our next phase of work.
I recognise the difference that good collaboration has made to the delivery of our workforce transformation programme and the great outcomes achieved as a consequence. We are particularly proud of the number of people supported into training and employment through the SkillsHouse Partnership, which is a great example of how pulling together and drawing on our individual strengths can deliver fantastic results. This year we were shortlisted for a national award for our approach to partnership working and this is testament to the way we collaborate, recognising that collectively, we are more than the sum of our parts.
Tina Lafferty
Programme Director,Health & Social Care Economic Partnership
Thank you
As Chair of the Health and Social Care Economic Partnership (HSCEP) I am delighted with the progress that we have made over the past year. At its inception, the HSCEP was successfully ratified as an anchor organisation collaborative made up of senior leaders from across the health and social care sector. This significant step forward established system-wide governance and strategic leadership with regards to the economic contribution that organisations could make to the district. This responsibility extended further in March 2020 when the Partnership was approved as the formal governance group for system-wide workforce development. This extended responsibility placed the Partnership in a unique position to drive system workforce transformation, with a strong focus on economic growth. The need for this became ever-more apparent as we observed the effects the pandemic had on unemployment rates across the district. The Partnership established ways of working that pulled together all corners of the health and social care sector, alongside our further and higher education partners. Our vision was to ensure that our current and future workforce was well supported, with seamless pathways into work and clear progression routes for people looking to develop their careers.
We are pleased to see the development of the new Place-based People Function that will align with the new statutory Integrated Care System function, and we are proud of the role that the HSCEP has played in leading the early development of this work, and paving the way for a seamless transition to the new People Function operating model.
This annual report primarily showcases our achievements over the past year, whilst reflecting on the previous three years of the HSCEP. I am extremely proud of our successes, especially the hard work and dedication of our core team and the teams we’ve collaborated with throughout the year.
Shirley Congdon
Vice Chancellor, University of Bradford
Health and Social Care Economic Partnership
Key Impacts 2021-22
Introduction
The Health and Social Care Economic Partnership has had a successful year in influencing strategic workforce change in Bradford District and Craven. We have continued to work with our health, social care, further and higher education and voluntary sector partners to develop and establish the governance and delivery model for our new People Function. Alongside this we have also continued to influence and contribute to the district’s strategic approach to delivering the District Workforce Development Plan.
As well as this strategic work, the HSCEP team has led the Growing the Workforce ambition of the Bradford District and Craven Health and Social Care Integrated People Plan. Through this we have delivered a variety of workforce projects, in the following areas.
| Showcasing and promoting careers | Placements and experience |
| Recruitment | Other Workforce Projects |
An overview of these projects is presented on the following pages. We conclude this report with a reflection of the work achieved by the HSCEP over the last three years.
Showcasing and promoting careers
Digital showcase: One Workforce Hub
Launched in January 2021, significant enhancement of the website has continued to take place with a number of key features further complimenting the user friendly platform. Key developments of the website include:
- Promotion of key events on the dedicated events page taking place throughout the district such as the Act As One Festival and Halsa Wellbeing events.
- A new feature showcasing the Allied Health Professional job roles is now live and includes new and informative case studies. Furthermore, Primary Care nurse roles are also now featured alongside other nursing roles. An additional feature highlights case studies of professionals who describe their experiences of returning to their chosen careers after a career break – their feelings, training undertaken and what it is like to be back.
- The Health & Social Care Virtual Education Conference took place in the Summer, hosted through the site. The free online conference provided an opportunity to connect with other educators and industry professionals working within the Bradford District.
Career Pathways
Working closely with professionals from the sector, we have begun development of an online resource that will help people to navigate careers in health and social care. Initially the work has focused on care workers and midwives – the tool will show how people interested in these roles can step in to these professions, including the relevant qualifications or experience required. The work has also demonstrated the breadth of progression opportunities that exist for staff in these roles – a whole career of opportunity! We look forward to presenting these pathways digitally in the very near future. We will continue to map out additional roles within health and social care, with Lab Technicians as one of many Medical Technology roles, and Nursing coming next.
Careers and Technical Education Health and Social Care Programme (CTE)
The CTE team have had another successful year working with employers, schools and colleges to establish sector based careers pathway approaches – with a further 4 schools/ colleges on board and 1,294 young people engaged this year. The team also ran a teacher CPD Conference in July with 40 educators and careers leads joining the session to find out about current pathways into professions, apprenticeship/ internship opportunities and learn more about T-Levels.
Future Technologies Roles
This year our Programme Director has become the Chair of the Science, Health and Medtech Hub, a sub-group of the Future Technologies Centre (FTC) Board. The FTC is a new employer-led education, research and skills initiative that brings together employers and FE / HE providers to help ensure that that we’re developing the technological skills required for the future world of work. The Hub is currently working towards three key aims: defining career progression routes into medtech roles; understanding the current and future skills gaps for the medtech profession; preparing for the FTC Expo in May 2022.
Placements and Experience
Health and Care T-Levels
These new, two-year, technical study programmes, are designed with employers to give young people the skills that industry needs. Through the partnership connections made via the HSCEP Partnership we have successfully supported students by helping partner organisations to identify complex barriers, overcome blockages and enabled them to ensure sufficient and appropriate placements have been available for T-Level students.
Keighley College have 24 T-Level students studying Health and Childcare Education in 2021/22. |
Shipley College have 31 T-Level students of which 13 have been placed in a range of non-NHS health and care settings. The remaining students are in the process of arranging placements with Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust. |
T Levels provide a mixture of technical knowledge and skills specific to their chosen industry or occupation; an industry placement of at least 45 days in their chosen industry or occupation; relevant maths, English and digital skills; and common workplace skills.
Placement Capacity
In January 2021 the University of Bradford brought together key people from across the health and care system to identify creative ways of growing placement capacity so that the University could increase course numbers for in-demand courses. As a result of this work, the 2021 intake for health and care courses increased by 318 places (from 2,321 in 2020/21 to 2,639 in 2021/22). The sector and the University continue to work closely together on this issue and have set a trajectory for continued growth in line with growing workforce demand.
Recruitment
Inclusive community recruitment
Between April 2021 and March 2022 the SkillsHouse Partnership has supported 1,416 people into employment or training. The development of the SkillsHouse service into an all-sector employability support service, delivered as a partnership with key organisations across the district has seen significant increase in the number of people who have been supported in the last 12 months, and health and social care remains one of the priority sectors the service supports.
Delivery of the Inclusive Community Recruitment project has enabled us to embed the SkillsHouse service model into recruitment activity across the health and social care sector, recognising the unique position the service plays in supporting local people into employment. The HSCEP team have been at the forefront of forging the relationships between partners and providing the framework to enable these ambitions to be realised.
Francesca’s story
Francesca was looking for a career in the care sector but was not sure where to begin. Her Job Coach referred her to Shipley College’s fully funded Level 2 Preparing to Work in Adult Social Care courses which run over a six-week period.
Francesca says: “The course is taught in an interesting way that makes me want to work in health and social care. It makes me feel more confident of which tasks I am expected to complete as a health/social care worker. It has opened doors to more employment opportunities and has broadened my knowledge and understanding of the different aspects of health/social care services. After completing this course I will definitely pursue my dream of being a successful carer and support worker.”
Employment Coaching – Bradford Council Covid Support Team
The Covid pandemic led to many people being recruited in to temporary support roles. With the pandemic becoming ever more just part of our daily lives, the contracts for many of these people were coming to an end. However, we didn’t want to lose their talents and experience from having worked in the world of health, especially with the many entry level vacancies, in care particularly. We therefore recruited an excellent job coach from this cohort to support and encourage colleagues from Bradford Council’s Covid Support Team to consider roles in health and social care. In a very short space of time, contact had been made with 62 of the Support Workers, of which 42 were consequently given assistance. With work ongoing, so far, 13 people have found work in other sectors, 5 have secured roles in health and social care, with a further 8 very interested in roles within the sector.
Fantastic feedback was received about the work of our Job Coach:
Dave Tench (former CSW) “Just letting you know I was offered & accepted the Environmental Enforcement Officer role last week. Many thanks for your support. The notes you gave me were really useful & the pause & have a sip of water while you think about your answer tip was great. I used that a few times”
Eliza Robinson (former CSW)“The job coach has helped me in so many ways with the transition from my current job coming to a end and to finding future employment. She has helped build my confidence when applying for jobs and helped turn a overwhelming process into a positive one.”
Entry level recruitment – establishing a whole system approach
Following the experiences of the pandemic in 2020 and the workforce crisis in the social care sector, in September 2021 we launched a collaborative partnership between the HSCEP team, SkillsHouse, Bradford Care Association, the Bradford Council’s Adult Services team, and our local colleges. This was to develop and launch a new care sector recruitment campaign. The first phase of the work established the infrastructure and pathways for job seekers, from initial information, advice and guidance, through to access to training, and support into work. The second phase of the work – the marketing campaign, launched in February 2022 and will run throughout 2022-23 through a range of mediums including: social media, job fairs, local media channels, and targeted promotion such as recruitment of students.
We have delivered a range of projects which supports the recruitment element of the health and social care sector. Some of these projects include:
| Casual pool – during the start of the pandemic, the HSCEP team led the development of a casual pool for the care sector, which was set up through the SkillsHouse service. |
| Independent care provider relationships – we have good relationships established with many of our local independent care providers who work closely with SkillsHouse in the recruitment of their staff. |
| Adult Social Care Academy – the early scoping work of the development of a Social Care Academy has gained approval and funding has been secured to develop a full business plan and operating model. The second phase of this programme will be to explore expanding this work to include health as well as social care. |
Other workforce projects
Women into Leadership
The HSCEP team launched the new Bradford Women into Leadership Network in May 2021. The Network is designed to find opportunities to:
- Build confidence
- Improve communication
- Grow relationships
- Influence organisational culture
Two Network events have taken place in 2021/2 with 140 attendees. The Network has gained formal recognition as part of the district response to the West Yorkshire Mayoral pledge to bring about behaviour change which will influence attitudes towards women and girls in wider society. The Network also ran the first session of the ‘Not a book club’ launched as part of International Women’s Day.
Health and Wellbeing
Virtual Hub
We led the development of a new dedicated Health & Wellbeing Virtual Hub. The Hub has been developed in collaboration with our partners and aims to provide a digital ‘Front Door’ for resources by signposting to toolkits, top tips, support and initiatives that encourage self-care, self help and peer support as well as specialist help and support.
Workforce Observatory
Has been developed as a forum to pool intelligence so that the health and social care workforce can be planned, forecast, grown and developed in an evidence-informed manner, enabling integrated system-wide workforce planning and development.
Achievements over 2022/23 include:
- Start-up funding secured from Health Education England (HEE)
- Strong working partnership with HEE and sector leaders established to influence the way that workforce data and intelligence is collected by HEE and utilised at place level.
- Recruitment and Retention of Care workers – review and recommendations
- Strategic workforce planning in health and social care – scoping review and recommendations
- Deep dive – Cancer diagnostics, workforce growth and development plan, scoping review complete
Support staff training
The Walking in My Shoes course, run over the last year, is a modern take on customer service training, looking at empathy and kindness and explores the challenges to providing good service. The interactive online course is designed so that support staff will recognise what it is like to ‘walk in service users’ shoes’, taking responsibility to get it right first time. Hosted by both Shipley and Keighley Colleges training has proved to be a huge success with 99 people joining the course throughout the year, in addition to the 68 engaged in the pilot earlier in the year.
The Fellowship Programme – local coordination
We have supported the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership with its ‘The Fellowship Programme’. This was set up to support colleagues from ethnic minorities to strengthen their leadership skills through providing direct hands on experience – this has over the last year benefited a further 6 colleagues through the High Potential 2 programme. The Bradford District also offered a number of placement projects, providing opportunities for colleagues from around the region to share their expertise and skills with our place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHsyoBGNsbo
Oral Health Training
An oral health mentorship training programme took place with staff in 15 care homes in 2021 which has contributed to their CQC rating, and enabled staff to better support residents with their dental health. Participants reported that the training “increased their confidence and knowledge in oral health”. The training also encouraged a change of practice in completing oral health care plans and supporting daily oral health care with the residents. This was seen as positive investment in care staff training adding value to their personal development and the support they can offer residents.
Procurement
Scoping work is being undertaken for a proposal to develop joint approaches towards procurement – joint purchasing and social value. The Health and Social Economic Partnership Board recognised this as being of particular importance to the group as it is one of HSCEP’s key strategic objectives. The HSCEP team have therefore been facilitating progression with this activity, with support and enthusiasm coming from public sector partners.
HSCEP Team
We were delighted to have two new team members join us in our Bradford Council Employment and Skills team this year, with whom we have since been working very closely. They have supported our communications approaches establishing HSCEP’s role in the district’s partnership arrangements, strengthening the data and intelligence produced by SkillsHouse and the business processes for our Careers and Technical Education team. Steering this work alongside the wider team’s finances has ensured we have maximised the additional resource and added value to workforce growth in health and social care.
