NHS People Plan for 20/21: why now is the time
Chief people officer Prerana Issar shares how COVID-19 propelled the ambitions of the fledgling NHS People Plan at speed into everyday life, so that the published plan for 2020/21 is now well placed to be a catalyst for positive change.
The many conversations I’ve had in the past year about what needs to be included in our NHS People Plan are still very fresh in my mind. And while a pre-COVID world is something we now struggle to connect to, what hasn’t changed is our shared conviction about what needs to change in our NHS. When we worked together to develop the plan pre-COVID, its principles and ambitions around being more agile, flexible, and multidisciplinary seemed highly aspirational. But although the pandemic has created many tests, it has also propelled these principles and ambitions into our day-to-day working lives more powerfully than we could ever have anticipated.
That’s why I feel that now is the right time to set out our ambition to ensure that all staff work within an inclusive and supportive culture, and to help make the NHS a really great place to work.
Solving problems at pace
During COVID-19 we have seen our NHS people come together to achieve far greater levels of collaboration and innovation than would have been the case just a few short months ago. We have proved that, even in the most difficult circumstances, we can accelerate change and solve problems at pace. We have also recognised and met the need for high-quality health and wellbeing support for staff, so they can better care for themselves as well as their patients. These changes must remain part of the blueprint of our NHS as we move forward.
I know that many of us are tired, and all of us are still processing a series of events that has taken such a physical, psychological and emotional toll. Many have felt the deep inequalities revealed across our organisations and society as a whole and there is fear about the further demands we will face over the months ahead. But after listening to staff, leaders and stakeholders, we felt that it was really important to set out how we will support our people through the winter to spring 2021 and what people should expect from their NHS in return for the tireless work they put in. I truly believe that this plan - while not the final word - will help to stabilise and relieve our organisation and its people, empowering us all to face these challenges together, with realism, hope and opportunity.
Our shared duty as leaders
Our focus now turns to supporting NHS leaders to take this plan and use it to support staff in a meaningful way, every day, to deliver on our shared duty as leaders, so that all our NHS people feel psychologically safe at work, and to agree that every member of staff is entitled to what is included in the People Promise.
This latest instalment in the NHS People Plan has benefited hugely from the expert, thoughtful and practical input and insight of trust and CCG leaders, as well as staff representatives and others. It’s in all of our interests to make sure the conversation doesn’t end here, and I look forward to sharing this joint endeavour across our NHS as a real catalyst for positive change for our people, and ultimately our patients, too.
Prerana Issar is chief people officer for NHS England and NHS Improvement. You can follow Prerana on Twitter @Prerana_Issar
