Page 16 - Regional Services Plan 2016/19

Workforce continues to be a key enabler both within the Ministry of Health’s Guidance for DHB Annual Planning Priorities and the Regional Services Plan Guidelines for 2016/17. Within this Midland RSP we aim to continue to develop the principles of culture, capability, capacity and change leadership. We recognise the long-standing gaps and weaknesses in our knowledge around the current workforce, particularly relating to capability and capacity. Critically evaluating the workforce as a number (headcount/FTE) does not provide sufficient evidence to enable clinical networks and action groups to develop new models of healthcare delivery.
Workforce planning is not an exact science. It requires us to predict potential future levels of demand for particular roles and to predict likely future levels of supply so we can judge how many newly qualified health professionals will be required to match population needs. Our workforce modelling is based on Kaplan’s Balanced Scorecard4 and considers demand and supply variables and the current training volumes being delivered against the anticipated demand reflecting population changes.
This plan continues to establish within the Midland region a coordinated workforce and training approach to better determine our current need and potential future workforce needs to determine that the region has the capacity to train staff in the right numbers and skills co- located to match population health care demand and need. A coordinated regional approach seeks to develop the capability of health workforces to become more flexible through multidisciplinary training that better matches population needs. Due to the unique spread of Pacific peoples in the Midland region, the regional focus is to support specific workforce initiatives set within DHB annual plans to increase participation of Pacific peoples in our health workforce. Finally, it supports the principle to support delivery of care more focused to primary and community care, developing generalists. It is recognised that specialists training within health careers will be limited to a few health care professionals located in particular centres.
GMs-HR provide a pivotal executive role in each of the Midland DHBs to plan and develop the future workforce. The RDoW role, working alongside GMs-HR, provides the link between Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ), workforce and training. Alignment of strategic planning between these entities is essential to develop the workforce required within our region in the near future, whilst providing a long-term platform for developing a sustainable model of training and workforce development. The plan identifies that the GMs-HR will work in tandem with the RDoW in workforce and training planning. Midland region is currently re-evaluating its training hub (Midland Region Training Network – MRTN) to gain the required traction from this body.
This plan recognises the continued national collaboration between District Health Board – Shared Services (DHB-SS) and HWNZ. This collaboration will support collection and collation of workforce intelligence and training data, thus enabling the Midland region to extract and critique credible and reliable data around its workforce (DHB-SS) and funded training positions (HWNZ), and support development of health practitioner workforces to deliver new models of care.
4 Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. The balanced scorecard: translating strategy into action. Harvard Business Press, 1996.
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REGIONAL INITIATIVES AND ACTIVITIES TO ACHIEVE OUR REGIONAL OBJECTIVES