Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with workforce planning specialists SARD to gain a greater understanding of clinical capacity and demand.
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with workforce planning specialists SARD to optimise workforce planning.
The programme will include engaging with its workforce to gain a greater understanding of clinical capacity and demand, and empower teams to make more informed decisions about workforce planning.
“Like many NHS hospitals, we are seeing a rise in demand for our services – coupled with an ageing population who have more complex health needs – so this project is a key part of our workforce strategy which will help to transform services to meet the future change in needs of local patients,” said Nigel Scawn, medical director at the Trust.
“We’ve completed the discovery and diagnostic phase, which included working with transformation leads, HR teams and our medical workforce to agree plans, review current policies, share SARD methodologies and understand their requirements,” he continued.
Over the next twelve weeks, the Trust will work closely with clinical consultants to make enhancements to job plans and processes that are aligned with capacity and demand. The process will also involve benchmarking job planning against other NHS Trusts in England.
The project is set to be completed by April 2025.
The workforce strategy at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is part of an overall improvement programme across the Trust, focusing on improved care for patients and families and a greater emphasis on staff wellbeing. The Trust has three hospitals – The Countess of Chester Hospital, Ellesmere Port Hospital and Tarporley War Memorial Hospital – and provides services to 420,000 people across West Cheshire.
