A new national briefing published today (23 August 2024) showcases Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust as one of four community trusts nationwide who are innovating to recruit and retain staff across the community workforce, as well as highlighting some of the enablers and existing barriers to recruitment. The briefing is from the Community Network, part of The NHS Confederation membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It comes in the context of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan's commitment to doubling the community workforce by 2036/37 and explores four case studies – including ours in Derbyshire – where NHS providers are having a particular impact in innovating to improve recruitment and retention at a local level.
The report says: “Embedding a positive staff culture is a priority for leaders at DCHS, and there is a focus on modelling this throughout the organisation. In recent years, the trust has explored the importance of kindness and the impact this has both on staff wellbeing and patient outcomes. This has surfaced issues around how staff are able to constructively discuss performance.” The report goes on to say: “Growing the community workforce is key to providing safe and timely care in the community and achieving national ambitions to deliver more care at and close to home.”
A shout out here for our DCHS teams who are making this happen, from recruitment and retention of colleagues, to creating working practices and a wellbeing approach which places prime importance on nurturing a culture of inclusion and belonging.
Although the report is primarily aimed at other community provider trusts, you might like to read it in full here.