Developing a high-performance support workforce in acute care: innovation, evaluation and engagement

Kessler I, Spilsbury K, Heron P
Record ID 32014001294
English
Authors' objectives: The project centred on three related themes, each with its own objective: first, an innovation theme to identify and facilitate the development of innovative practice as it relates to support worker roles in an acute health-care setting; second, an evaluation theme to evaluate various acute trust policies and practices designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder interaction with support worker roles; and third, an engagement theme to secure the engagement of various stakeholders in sharing knowledge, practice and learning on support worker roles.
Authors' recommendations: While support workers remain at the forefront of policy seeking to improve care quality, developing new approaches to their use and management remains difficult. Effective change often relies on a balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches; addressing resistance to extended unregistered roles; the activities of 'institutional entrepreneurs'; and 'institutional work' based on partnership and inclusion. Institutional rigidities create challenges which need to be addressed by trust policy-makers and practitioners as they seek to further develop and embed nurse support roles. Strategies are needed which nurture key organisational actors with a stake in these roles; ensure that key organisational functions are co-ordinated; and ensure that all of those involved in workforce change, particularly at ward level, are fully informed about it.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2014
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: England, United Kingdom
MeSH Terms
  • Acute Disease
  • Medical Staff
  • Nursing Staff
Contact
Organisation Name: NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme
Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK
Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk
Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk
Copyright: Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.