Health and social care - surge and winter preparedness: national planning priorities and principles

Support the mental health and wellbeing of the health and social care workforce, improve capacity and retention, and support unpaid carers

Periods of surge for health and social care services can place particular pressure on those meeting that need, both the workforce and unpaid carers. Surge planning should focus on supporting workforce capacity and retention of staff, unpaid carers, and third sector partners, and ensuring the wellbeing of staff is supported at all points, particularly through challenging periods of high demand. In line with this, the OIP recognises that workforce capacity is one of the most significant factors influencing service delivery, performance and resilience.

In line with the requirements of the Health & Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, partners should ensure appropriate levels of staffing in health and care services, enabling safe and high-quality care and improved outcomes for service users. Scottish Ministers have issued Statutory Guidance to support organisations in meeting requirements placed on them by the Act.

Sector partners, employers and trade unions should work together with the Scottish Government and COSLA to sure that our hard-working social care staff are central to, and will have a voice in the direction of workforce planning in the Service Renewal Framework, that will ensure the future sustainability of the workforce.

In the context of health services, periodic application of the Common Staffing Method should inform workforce planning decisions at individual service level, whilst processes should be in place to enable the escalation of risks identified during real-time assessment of staffing levels. This real-time assessment is likely to be particularly valuable during surge periods. Whilst the use of agency staff across services remains a measure of last resort, Boards are encouraged to continue to prioritise the deployment of substantive staff or bank staff where additional flexibility is required during surge periods.

It is estimated that between 700,000 and 800,000 people provide unpaid care for a relative or friend at home and within other community or residential supports, and support for the wellbeing and support needs of these hugely valued unpaid carers should be embedded in surge planning to ensure carers are able to sustain their caring role with positive wellbeing. This could include support to allow unpaid carers to participate in education, training or employment alongside their caring responsibilities, should they wish to do so. During periods of surge, it is also vital to ensure that people continue to have choice and control over their care and support, through the effective implementation of Self-Directed Support for people who access this support, and their carers.