Staff focus - other support

Guidance and tools

This section includes resources which can help with the understanding of and implementation of particular aspects of policy, and support processes for improving care.

This is not a comprehensive listing. If there are any tools you are using in your workplace which you feel should be included here, please let us know. The documents are listed alphabetically by title within each of the sections below.

You may also find relevant guidance and tools in RCN publications and RCN products and services.

Some publications are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.

 Employment policy

NHS Employers: Agenda for Change
Details how Agenda for Change works and changes that occur in policy and procedures.
Information for Agenda for Change in Scotland is available in the NHS Scotland Management Steering Group (MSG) website, and in Northern Ireland at Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Agenda for Change.

NHS Employers: equality and diversity
Part of the NHS Employers website, this brings together a range of resources and publications under key headings.

Professional competencies and standards

A health visiting career (2012)
This guidance published by the Department of Health identifies areas of good practice, suggests ways that these can be shared and enhanced, and gives an overview of the novice to expert journey and the pathway for newly qualified health visitors in their first two years.

Advanced nursing practice toolkit
This is one of the clinical practice portals within the NHS Scotland e-Library. The toolkit includes a consensus definition of advanced nursing practice, regulatory guidance, an educational framework to support advanced practice role development, exemplar KSF outlines and job descriptions, activity analysis and skills analysis tools and links to qualification and career frameworks. It is also possible to submit documents, tools and other resources for future inclusion.

Education and development framework for senior charge nurses (2008)
This framework accompanies the Senior Charge Nurse (SCN)/Midwife Review in Scotland which aims to develop a modern clinical leadership role in line with recommendations in 'Delivering care, enabling health'. It is based around the four domains of responsibility in the SCN role: ensuring safe and effective clinical practice; enhancing patient experience; managing and developing the performance of the team; contributing to the delivery of the organisation's objectives. It describes the 13 capabilities linked to these four domains and the knowledge and skills required. The framework can be used for self-assessment of skills, to identify learning needs and find training and education resources, and to support personal and professional development planning. The framework is made available on the NHS Education in Scotland website.

Flying Start NHS (Scotland)
Flying Start NHS was launched in NHS Scotland in 2006. The programme applies to all nurses, midwives and allied health professionals when they take up their first post in Scotland as a registered practitioner. It focuses on work-based learning supported by employers recognising that “newly qualified staff need time and support to grow into their new role as a qualified practitioner". For practitioners in England there is Flying Start England.

Generic guiding principles for those supporting learning in the workplace (PDF 897.5KB)  (2008)
This publication, developed by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and made available on the NES website, aims to provide generic guiding principles for the preparation of individuals who support learning in the workplace. The principles can provide a basis for a more systematic and consistent approach to the support of learning in the workplace but it is emphasised that these principles should be interpreted by individuals, groups and organisations in their own context. The publication is made available as part of  the Healthcare support workers' toolkit (see below).

Healthcare support workers’ toolkit
This toolkit has been developed by NHS Education for Scotland and is designed to support all managers and educators who are involved in developing health care support workers. It sets the policy context in Scotland and links to key policy drivers, and brings together resources for role development, learning and development and induction standards and codes.

Modernising nursing in the community (2012)
Launched by NHS Education for Scotland, this resource brings together information and tools to support the community nursing role. The content is arranged in three main sections which each illustrate the 12 elements of the framework for community nursing in Scotland. "The website will continue to be developed by and with community nurses in practice, education, research and leadership roles and a range of stakeholders". The three main sections are: children, young people and families; work and wellbeing; adults and older people.

National approach to mentor preparation for nurses and midwives (2007)
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has developed a core curriculum framework for the preparation of mentors in Scotland based around the standards for supporting learning and assessment in practice from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It is intended that the framework will inform development of local programmes. The content is based on best available evidence and structured around three units - learning, professional accountability and relationships, and assessment. The framework and information about its development is available on the NES website and there is also a report which presents the findings of a scoping exercise to evaluate the first phase of implementation of the framework.

NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and the Development Review Process (2004)
This publication can be accessed from the Department of Health website. The NHS KSF has been developed as part of the Agenda for Change (AfC) process. It provides a single NHS-wide framework which defines and describes the knowledge and skills staff need to apply in their work in order to deliver a quality service, and acts as a tool for supporting personal development, career progression and service development.

See also: Appraisal and KSF made simple. This guide has been produced by the NHS Staff Council and is made available along with practical tools and tips from trusts on the NHS Employers website.

NIPEC Development Framework (nipecdf)
This website is part of the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council's Development Framework project. It offers nurses and midwives a range of tools and resources to support career planning, the development of a portfolio and competency profile, and guidance on developing new roles. There is also a section describing a range of learning activities to support development needs.

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC): Standards
This section of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's website provides information about and access to the NMC documents which set the professional standards and underpin professional activities. This includes The code: standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives.

Career and development frameworks for specific areas of practice

For information on the RCN career and competence framework and related frameworks see RCN products and services.

Wellbeing at work

Health and safety essential guide
This guide, made available on the NHS Employers website, has been fully updated. It is divided into key topic areas which include a section on health, work and wellbeing.

NHS wellbeing at work
This resource has been developed by NHS Employers and brings together the most relevant information on health and wellbeing from government, arms-length bodies, NHS organisations, charities and more. It brings together a comprehensive range of resources on health and wellbeing in the workplace including toolkits, podcasts, guidance and websites. The website includes sections on the Boorman NHS health and wellbeing review, on QIPP and wellbeing, and the five high-impact actions, developed by the Department of Health’s wellbeing delivery group, which are likely to make the greatest difference to embedding staff health and wellbeing within NHS organisations.

There is also a briefing from NHS Employers which aims to help senior managers in the NHS make staff health and wellbeing part of their organisation’s culture and embed it into their organisational policies. It outlines the important role of staff health and wellbeing in delivering quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP) and in meeting responsibilities to staff under the NHS Constitution – See Health, work and wellbeing in the NHS.

Workforce planning

King's College London National Nursing Research Unit: Policy+
Policy+ which is published by the National Nursing Research Unit provides digests of evidence related to current policies affecting the nursing workforce in England, the wider UK and the rest of the world. You can register to receive issues of Policy+.

National Workforce Planning Framework (2005)
Held on the Scottish Government website, this document outlines the framework, which from 2005 onwards, the Scottish NHS Boards and regions have used to plan for their workforce needs. It explains the actions required at national, regional and Board level to deliver those plans.

NHS Employers: Planning your workforce
One of the aims of NHS Employers is to influence policy and help shape the future workforce. This section of the website provides support for workforce planning and productivity. It includes guidance on flexible working and on use of temporary and agency workers.

NHS Scotland: Developing workforce planning capability in Scotland
This portal, which is under development, provides a learning resource for any healthcare professional in Scotland involved in workforce planning. It provides information and links to tools and resources which are either generic and applicable to the whole workforce or profession specific. A number of the resources have been developed in collaboration with Skills for Health. Made available through The Knowledge Network in Scotland as one of the portals dedicated to specific topics.

Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning Project: A good practice guide in the use of supplementary staffing (2007)
This practical guide aims to help managers and frontline staff across Scotland in their management of nurse staffing. It also provides support to nurse bank managers by setting out what works well in the management of supplementary staffing based on experience and best practice. The practice guidance is tabulated under the headings: Recommended practice, rationale, and measures of success and highlights organisational policies, responsibilities and procedures. It also sets out the qualities that substantive staff can expect to see in bank nurses. The guidance is made available on the publications pages of the Scottish Government website. 

Nursing Workforce Planning Tool
Made available on the NHS Healthworkforce website, this tool aims to assist nursing workforce planning and help make better decisions about cost effective numbers and mixes of nurses. The tool incorporates five workforce planning methods - professional judgement approach, nurses per occupied bed, activity-quality, time-task/activity approaches and regression-based systems. An accompanying report looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the different planning methods.

See also RCN publications and RCN products and services.