WIREDGOV

NHS Confederation, NHS Clinical Commissioners, NHS Providers and the Local Government Association, have yesterday (15 June) published a handy guide to the work vanguards are doing to engage their staff in the design and delivery of new care models. The new report – New Care Models and Staff Engagement: All Aboard aims to help spread the learning from the vanguard programme across the health and care sector.

The publication contains four case studies which examine the ongoing work of NHS and local government organisations that are ensuring staff are at the heart of all decisions about new models of care in local areas.

They are:

• All Together Better Dudley (multispecialty community provider)
• Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge System Resilience Group (urgent and emergency care)
• Better Care Together – Morecambe Bay Health Community (integrated primary and acute care system)
• East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (enhanced health in care homes)The publication also identifies a number of key principles in order to help plan staff engagement when developing new models of care.

They include:

• Enabling different groups of staff across organisations to ‘break down the barriers’ so people can break out of old working patterns and think differently.
• Recognising that those on the front line of care have the best ideas about how to improve it – but need to feel empowered to do so.
• Recognising that if staff feel that their contribution is valued, they will want to do all they can to make new care models a success.

This publication is the second in a series of two. The first publication, focused onnew models of care and prevention and was published at the end of May.