Community Academy

Aims

• Explore recruitment and retention challenges.
• ensure ARRS roles continue to become embedded in PCNs and are used effectively. maximise recruitment and retention as Integrated Neighbourhood Teams are implemented. 
• identify examples of good practice in ARRS implementation.
• inform future workforce planning

Outline

The project is designed to enable the optimisation of Additional Roles in primary care to support future workforce planning, enhance service delivery to improve population health outcomes. This includes, identifying and sharing best practice and success stories, including the opportunities for personal development, quality improvement, collaborative working and increased morale. 

The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme was introduced in 2019 in primary care in England to support service provision. The scheme supports the recruitment of Allied Health Professionals to provide an enhanced range of healthcare services to support general practices (Baird et al, 2022). The original range of ARRS roles was extended to include other disciplines. The specific focus for this project is First Contact Physiotherapy and Personalised-care (Health and Wellbeing Coach, Care Co-ordinator, Social Prescriber) ARRS roles, as determined in consultation with system leaders. 

The multi-method, project evaluation builds on previous local (EQUIP 2021, 2022) and wider evidence (Baird et al, 2022) involves a stratified sample of PCNs (based on deprivation indices, population density, employment model etc) from across the region will be completed in 2025. Early findings indicate a range of beneficial outcomes for stakeholders, including improved service delivery and staff wellbeing, and the development of local community agency. In addition, the leveraging of cross-sector and cross-organisation relationships developed during the programme (organisational and individual levels) for future collaborative development is apparent. Finally, there are early indications of how any remaining barriers potentially preventing full use of these roles can be addressed. 

Aims

• Build on the success of the MSE Legacy Nurse programme
• Support service delivery by addressing recruitment and retention challenges by:
  • Retaining highly experienced clinicians
  • Providing additional support for colleagues in the early stages of their career, students on placement and staff returning to practice after a break

Outline

This project builds on the success of the legacy nurse programme, a national initiative to help improve NHS staff retention (NHSE 2020, NHS England/NHS Employers 2022), which was successfully implemented in Mid and South Essex.

This project enables Legacy staff to use their wide experience of working in a clinical setting to bridge the gap between academic and clinical settings, share good practice and provide clinical and pastoral support for the next generation of clinicians (Clauson, 2011, Hardy, 2023). Funding was provided for two WTE Band 7 LPs for 12 months and flexible recruitment employed. Additional programme support was provided e.g. Action Learning Sets. 

Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) and Social Workers (SW) were selected as the focus due to specific recruitment and retention challenges facing these professions and to support ‘levelling up’ of key areas defined as ‘left behind’ (neighbourhoods/communities with a combination of social and economic deprivation, poor connectivity (physical and digital), low levels of community engagement and a lack of community spaces and places) and help to address poor health outcomes, unfulfilled life chances.

The programme evaluation will be completed in 2025. Early findings indicate a range of beneficial outcomes regarding staff retention and service delivery and strategies for addressing the challenges faced when introducing such new roles. In addition, the leveraging of cross-sector and cross-organisation relationships developed as a result of the programme (organisational and individual levels) for future collaborative development is apparent.