Welcome to the September edition of our Healthcare roundup for our clients and contacts working in the NHS. 

In this month’s newsletter we’re featuring: 

• Head of Human Resources Advisory, Claire Shaw, talks about the importance of recognising when a case should be subject to investigation and how to ensure a quality process
• A recap of our latest sector insights, in case you missed them
• What’s coming up – find out about the events we are hosting in the coming months.
  

Claire Shaw - What I'm talking to my clients about

Claire is an experienced HR practitioner specialising in Employee Relations and service & systems improvement. Claire’s 18 years’ experience has been gained mainly through working in NHS organisation. Before working for Capsticks, Claire was Head of HR at one of the country’s largest, high-performing Trusts. Her role as Head of HRA is to manage and develop HR teams that provide an outsourced ER service to clients, either based on their premises or on a consultancy basis, ensuring the client’s needs are met, as well as providing advice to board members and managers on complex cases.

Claire and her team deliver on complex investigations including Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS), Whistleblowing and Bullying & Harassment (B&H) matters, ad hoc projects, as well as providing training to managers and HR teams on best practice. More recently, Claire has been advising clients on the importance of good quality investigations. Following the recommendations from Dido Harding, she is advising clients of the importance of ensuring that cases are really cases before any investigation is commenced. Claire spends time advising managers about the role of an investigator, the importance of good terms of reference and fact finds, as well as providing assurance to Boards on matters involving BAME staff.

What I’m talking to clients about:

I’m talking to clients about their ER processes and how they can be streamlined and made more robust in being able to challenge decisions to investigate or suspend staff members. I’m also asked by clients to assist with absence management, providing an organisation’s managers with the confidence to manage absence cases fairly but swiftly.

Some examples of recent work with which Capsticks HRA is assisting clients include:

• Absence management projects, providing advice and a process to reduce the length of time employees are absent;
• Contributing to national frameworks for handling concerns within the workplace;
• Reviews within organisations linked to bullying and harassment concerns;
• Retaining talent within HR communities; and
• Improving operational HR processes.
  

I will be attending the NHS Provider Conference in October and you will find further details about this below. If you’re also attending and interested in finding out more about our HRA service then please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

We’re supportive and want to help. Please do get in touch if we can help you deliver on any aspects of the implementation of the Long Term Plan and any role you may have to play in that.

Events and conferences

We are constantly planning new events so visit our events page to see what's coming up.

MHPS Employment Update Seminar | Capsticks London | 24 September

Andrew Rowland, Head of Healthcare, and Victoria Watson, Head of our Employment Division, both leading experts in the field, will talk you through the latest developments from the courts and tribunals in cases involving conduct and capability concerns about doctors in the NHS.

You will have the opportunity to put questions to our experts, get involved in discussions with your peers and colleagues, and take away some practical learning points to put into practice in your own organisation. Learn more and register here.

Emergency Services Seminar | Capsticks London | 18 October 
Emergency Services Seminar | Capsticks Leeds | 7 November 

Our experienced employment and HR advisory teams will provide a brief update on the following areas:

• Managing absence and disability effectively
  
• Positive action – where next?
• Resolving conflict in the workplace through mediation 
• Inspection reporting and culture change
  

You will have the opportunity to get involved in discussions about relevant HR and employment issues, to put questions to our expert legal team and to network with your peers and colleagues. Learn more and register here.

HSJ Integrated Care Summit | Manchester Central | 19 and 20 September

We were delighted to partner on the HSJ’s Integrated Care Summit which took place in Manchester on the 19th and 20th September. Andrew Rowland, Tracy Giles and Peter Edwards attended and caught up with colleagues from across the provider, commissioning and local council landscapes to determine how to best capitalise on the new funding settlement to realise ICS opportunities, and rethink service delivery to improve quality and outcomes for local populations. 

NHS Providers annual conference | Manchester Central | 8 and 9 October 

Andrew Rowland, Rachael Heenan, Claire Shaw and Sunita Raja will be attending this conference as delegates and look forward to catching up with their colleagues across the provider sector to explore how they are embracing new opportunities with a realistic eye on the need to recover performance, stabilise the sector’s finances and invest to transform. View further information here.

NHS Employers Strategic Workforce Forum | The Belfry | 15 and 16 October

Hosted by NHS Employers, Andrew Rowland, Vicky Watson and Nicky Green will be attending to explore key strategic workforce issues and opportunities to develop ideas and solutions. View further information here.

HFMA Estates & Facilities Forum | 110 Rochester Row | 7 November

Not only are we sponsoring the HFMA Estates and Facilities Forum, but Matthew Hunter will also be running a workshop. The forum will consider ways that the NHS can continue to maximise estate productivity benefits, improve utilisation of clinical space, ensure build and maintenance is done sustainably and improve energy efficiency. View further information here.

Are you struggling with procurement challenges?

Dylan Young and the contentious procurement team are providing tailored training sessions aimed at procurement staff/managers and evaluators who procure goods and services for the public. The session provides practical and useful information on responding to challenge, where procurements go wrong and how to reduce risk. View further information here.

Insights 

In case you missed them, here is a roundup of our most recent health and social care insights.

Delay could be fatal for bidders in the tendering game
In Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust v Cornwall Council [2019] EWHC 2211 (TCC) the Technology and Construction Court has again confirmed that it is very risky for a bidder to delay bringing a claim under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Read more.

Top Social Care Articles – August 2019
Our monthly series provides summaries of the key news items in social care. Read more.

Concussion: Coming round again
This article considers the medico-legal aspects of concussion injury, the duty of care owed by those involved and the governance measures which organisations can put in place to minimise the risk of concussion related litigation. Read more.

Ensure that you continue to receive our insights and event invitations here. 

Feedback and suggestions

Our ambition is to include information that is relevant to you as professional working within the NHS. Please do let us know your feedback and suggestions for future features by emailing us at [email protected].