Health Improvement Programme for
Doncaster 2000 - 2003

Strategic Direction

To ensure that robust human resources and organisational development processes are in place which will enable all aspects of the programme to be delivered and that the HR/OD implications are fully integrated into each of the care theme approaches in order to ensure consistency of approach across the whole of the Health Improvement Programme.

General Commentary

It is recognised that at present each of the stakeholder organisations which make up the Health and Social Care community have tended to focus on developing their own individual HR and OD plans. Consequently the integrated approach explicit in the development of the Health Improvement Programme poses two cultural challenges to established working arrangements:

• For stakeholders to identify areas of mutual interest and respond collectively rather than separately to maximise efficiency and effectiveness in delivering service outcomes.
• The stakeholder to establish a communal approach to forward planning which supersedes the sum of their individual contributions.

The latter assumes a degree of sophistication in which the HR and OD needs of the 'virtual' organisation i.e. the Health and Social Care community can be identified. This shift in thinking and planning explains why much of the early actions to secure the outcomes from an integrated community plan relies on the building of networks and processes through which joint communal planning can be developed meaningfully. Whilst this development process is unfolding certain requirements such as the NHS National framework 'Working Together' which is applicable to nearly all stakeholders must be met, as must the management of the HR implications arising out of organisational re-configuration within the local Health and Social Care communities.

An explicit understanding of organisational configuration issues will be required so that the Health and Social Care community can collectively respond to these to maximise continuity of service provision and security of employment of skilled valuable staff.

Further information can be obtained by downloading the full text version of the Health Improvement Programme for Doncaster 2000 - 2003.

Any comments on this section should be submitted to the Theme Lead, Joe Brayford, Director of Human Resources, Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI), Armthorpe Road, Doncaster DN2 5LT, email: jbrayford@drimh-tr.trent.nhs.uk