The impact of workforce flexibility on the costs and outcomes of older peoples' services: A policy and literature review (original) (raw)
Related papers
The relationship between workforce flexibility and the costs and outcomes of older people's services
Report submitted to the National Institute of Health Research, Service Delivery and Organisation ProgrAM, 2010
Research Aim: To examine how, and with what impact, workforce substitution and specialisation is influenced by workforce change policies in the context of older peoples community and intermediate care services. Type and location:The setting for this research is older peoples community and intermediate care services, which will include health and social services across England. Specifically, the research will examine non-acute, time limited services that are designed increase the independence of older people. The research uses macro and micro level analysis to provide both a national perspective on the breadth and scope of older peoples services, staffing and skill mix, as well as a series of case studies of different models of older peoples care. Methods of working: The research will involve three key stages; (1.) Cross sectional analyses of existing data to enable macro level analysis of older peoples services, costs and outcomes; (2.) Application of a questionnaire (the Workforce dynamics questionnaire (WDQ) which examines a range of domains around workforce change; and (3.) A prospective longitudinal follow-up of a series of case study sites to examine, in depth specific hypotheses relating to workforce variations on service costs including, (a.) The relationship between workforce change and staff, service and user outcomes (b.) The relationship between different approaches to organization and management and staff, service and user outcomes (c.) The relationship between different approaches to service organization and management and workforce structures, and (d.) The impact of specialization on the team and service users. This cross sectional analysis will verify the theoretical background around the variations in service types, skill mix and outcomes for older people. Measures of outcome:The research will examine the relationships between the following variables: - Workforce configuration, including skill mix; substitution, specialisation, delegation; training and role overlap- Service organisation and management, including team structures, the setting of care, supervision / accountability- Staff outcomes, including worker satisfaction, autonomy, recruitment and retention - Service user outcomes, patient and carer satisfaction, change in health related quality of life (HRQoL) and level of independence- Service outcomes: costs and the acceptability of different services to users
Nurse education today, 2004
Planning workforce development across the health and social care services for older people presents a formidable challenge. In England, Workforce Development Confederations are responsible for commissioning the education and training of the current and future health and social care workforce. This article reports on an analysis of local issues in planning the workforce for older people's services undertaken in one Confederation. It reports on the perceived priorities for developing the workforce in older peoples services in a policy environment where multiple initiatives were competing for attention. It highlights the key challenges in planning a strategy that embraces numerous service and education providers and offers practical solutions. Although this analysis was in one Confederation, the issues raised have relevance for other Confederations and their education and service partner organisations.
Building capacity for aged care policy reform: Aspirations and issues
Journal of Care Services Management, 2010
AbstractReform motivated by idealism runs the risk of acting on unrealistic assumptions about the need for and preferences around service types, the effects of competition, technical and organisational obstacles to implementation, and threats to other stakeholder groups which may actively resist the proposed change. For England to successfully introduce a system of long-term care that is primarily home-based, there must be careful consideration and open debate about the intended and unintended consequences of policy. For instance, families would need to be motivated and supported to care for their relatives with dementia and increasing disability; as carer responsibilities increase, employees would need support from employers and possibly review of industrial frameworks to protect their positions while undertaking the dual roles of carer and worker; quality home-based nursing care would need to be enhanced and fully supported so that services are delivered and maintained at an acceptable standard of quali...
2013
Active ageing has been developed as a policy response to population ageing in the UK and in other parts of Europe. A key focus of this policy is the extension of working lives, yet it needs to be supported by other measures enabling and also encouraging individuals to continue working longer. Age management in organisations has an important role to play in this respect. This article mainly presents the findings of case studies on good practice in age management in health and social care organisations and local authorities which were conducted as part of the European study on 'Activating Senior Potential in Ageing Europe'. The article focuses on selected dimensions of age management, including recruitment, training, career development, flexible working and health promotion, while highlighting good practices that relate to wider age management approaches and developments over time. It ends with a brief note on the results of quantitative longitudinal studies which have examined the impact of extending working lives on individuals' health.
2015
The Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre (WISeR) focuses on work and socioeconomic change. WISeR is particularly interested in how organisational structure and practices, technology and economic systems, policy and institutions, environment and culture interact to influence the performance of workplaces and the wellbeing of individuals, households and communities. WISeR also specialises in socioeconomic impact assessment including the distributional impacts and human dimensions of change on different population groups and localities. Our research plays a key role in informing policy and strategy development at a national, local and international level.
Adult care workers at the upper end of the ‘third age’ (60-75) in England
Social Care Workforce Periodical, Issue 5, 2010
The ‘New Deal’ Labour policies in the UK have the explicit aim of reducing unemployment among older workers, and older people’s participation in the labour force has increased during the past decade or so. In this issue of the Social Care Workforce Periodical (SCWP) we aim to investigate empirical data on the current stock of older workers in the adult social care sector in England, identified through the NMDS-SC, December 2009 release using 80,041 individual workers’ records. Here the aim is to focus on a particular group of this ‘third age’, those aged 60 to 75, and compare their characteristics and profile to the younger cohorts aged 50-55 and 55-60 years, so as to examine the changing profile among these three closely related groups.
The impact of ageing on the NHS
2022
The human body is, by definition, a "corpus". This Latin term emphasises the synergy and interdependence of each of its parts. There is no scientific basis for estimating the number of specialists of various types needed to meet the population's needs of the type of interventions that confer benefit. However, it is virtually certain that the proper functioning of the filter could free up more time for properly deployed specialists to provide services that would significantly improve health and, above all, equity in health. Recognition of the importance of first contact function in Primary Care as a filter and coordinator , should lead us to better clinical outcomes for the most part. The government should recognise, protect, and prioritise, the role of the Primary Care interface.
Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2013
Aim: To provide new measures of employee retention in the aged care sector and to identify how employment retention varies across key groups of workers in the sector. Method: The techniques of survival analysis were applied to staff record data from a representative provider of aged and community care services. Results: We showed that 63% of carer employment spells end within 2 years. Fifty-seven per cent of nurse employment spells ended within this time period. Employment retention was poorest among young recruits, men and workers on casual contracts. Conclusion: The high rates of staff turnover add substantial costs and risks to aged care organisations and should be the focus of workforce strategies. Casual employment is one potential contributory factor. However, the role of wages and other working conditions should also be examined. Given the importance of mature-age women in the sector, strategies should focus on their circumstances and needs. The reference categories are females, permanent contract, 15-24 years, administration and start year between 1997 and 2001. We use four binary indicators to represent the labour market conditions at the start year: 1997-2001 (the unemployment rate in WA was mostly at around 7%); 2002-2003 (the unemployment rate was 5-6%); 2004-2005 (the unemployment rate was 4-5%); and 2006-2007 (the unemployment rate dipped below 4%) [8].
No scope for complacency: time to improve healthcare for older people
The Psychiatrist
SummaryThe Equality Act 2010 should prevent age discrimination in the provision of healthcare and other services in the UK. The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of the Psychiatry of Old Age and General & Community Psychiatry Faculty have offered constructive guidance to help achieve this. However, there are pitfalls. First, legislation does not guarantee enforcement. Second, discrimination in the form of persisting negative attitudes of society towards older people and their ability to benefit from health interventions is associated with a deficit in funding old age services that has accumulated gradually during the 60 years of the National Health Service. These difficulties will need to be overcome to achieve effective implementation of the Act.