MULTI-SKILLING IN HEALTH SECTOR

Multi-skilling in Health Sector



Abstract

Empirically, this study is set in the context of ongoing policy reforms aimed at modernizing the NHS workforce and the introduction of multi-skills concept. NHS exemplifies attempts globally to reconfigure professional roles and relationships through multi skills to engender more collaborative forms of healthcare delivery that are based on professional accomplishment, rather than traditional jurisdiction. Hence, mediate shortages of doctors, curb rising costs, and improve quality of care. Specifically, the study enlightens the organizational change measures adapted by NHS by deploying multi-skilled work force in the wards of NHT Trust. The study is embedded in long-established workforce hierarchy and specialization. NHS has a long history of working in safety and quality. Examples such as the Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network are internationally recognized. The initiative taken by NHS blurs the hierarchical concept of the organization. This study emphasizes on the initiatives taken by NHS Trust and also criticizes the draw backs of the approach. According to the analysis of the data it can be interpreted that multi-skilling concept has been a tremendous approach to exaggerate team work. However, in the field of health care this approach is also criticized due to the sophisticated nature of the work.

Multi-skilling in Health Sector

Introduction

If the 1990s was the decade of evidence-based medicine the following decade has seen a gradual move towards evidence-based care delivery. The translation of discovery research into actual improvements in care is a challenging transition. Quality improvement techniques developed in industry are an attempt to bridge this gap. Unprecedented improvements in the safety of air travel, oil exploration and nuclear power have occurred because of cultural change after major disasters. In contrast healthcare deals with life and death every day. The quality improvement movement has now reached healthcare.

NHS has a long history of innovation in quality and safety. The most recent is the Scottish Patient Safety Program, an initiative designed to reduce acute hospital mortality by 15% and adverse events by 30%. NHS Scotland is launching a Quality Strategy to lay the foundations for further improvements in safety, clinical effectiveness and patient centeredness. NHS introduced multi-skilling teams in the wards of NHS trust in order to get maximum efficiency and quality standards by encouraging teamwork in the work environment.

Across the globe, healthcare systems face unprecedented financial challenges. The National Health Service (NHS) in England is no exception. The English NHS is one of the largest health systems in the world, with 1.4 million staff, providing comprehensive care to a population of 54 million people. There is a gap of up to 20 billion between the current trajectory of NHS spending and what is likely to be available over the next three years (NHS Chief Executive, 2009, 12-23). Significant efforts are being made to address this. However, the agenda is not just about working with fewer financial resources.

Within NHS, there is a strong national commitment to quality as the biggest strategic priority (Department of Health, 2008, ...