NHS SCW Change programme information

The consultation phase of the change programme is now concluded.

The consultation process was designed and managed to provide opportunities for meaningful consultation with staff (and their recognised Trade Union colleagues), who were considered to be ‘affected by change’ as a consequence of the proposed changes. 

Whether you were directly affected or not, this period was your opportunity to feedback on the proposed changes and make suggestions.

Our priority during the consultation period was for every service line to support staff, listen, gather feedback, and make sure questions are answered and queries are addressed. 

Since the closure of the consultation phase, all feedback has been reviewed and considered. We would like to thank everyone for their input. The outcome report and appendices have now been approved by our Executive Management Team (EMT). The appendices are available on the intranet (Nest) and via your manager, they contain the final structures and identify roles that are impacted.
We will explore all possible mitigations to support staff placed at risk to find alternative roles within SCW and the wider NHS. Any redundancy notices will be issued after these processes have been exhausted and pending approval of a business case from NHS England.

Slotting in
Slotting in may occur where a post is in the same band as the individual’s current substantive post or where it remains substantially the same (usually defined as 66% the same) regarding job content, responsibility, grade, status and requirements for skills, knowledge, experience, and location.
From 14 February, those who are eligible to slot into posts will receive a letter confirming the slot in and will not receive an at risk letter.
From w/c 19 February, at risk letters will start to be issued. Staff will receive notice that they are at risk where they have been matched to a post in the new structure within a ring-fenced pool or where they have not been matched to a post in the new structure and will enter redeployment.
Letters will be emailed as an attachment from the Change Consultation Response mailbox unless the recipient (e.g. on long-term leave) has registered that they prefer/require physical letters. If there is an accessibility issue, we can also provide a printed letter.
If you do not receive a letter, it will mean that your role is not identified as at risk. Please raise any concerns with your line manager.
 
Ringfencing
Ringfencing is the process by which staff ‘at risk’ will be considered for a post in a new staffing or management structure which is similar to their substantive post and where there is more than one contender for that post.
Where there is more than one person identified as a match to a post, a competitive selection process will then take place. Ringfenced selection processes will start late February and are expected to run until mid-April. Individuals who are unsuccessful during a competitive selection process, will then move into redeployment.
 
Redeployment within SCW and restricted recruitment within the NHS
Redeployment means the transferring or recruitment of staff at risk into a suitable alternative post.
Anyone who has not secured a role through the slotting in or ringfencing processes will enter into redeployment to seek suitable alternative employment. The redeployment process will commence late February. To maximise the opportunity for staff at risk to secure suitable alternative employment, where staff have exhausted suitable redeployment opportunities internally, the restricted recruitment process will be explored with other Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) and partner organisations.

Throughout this change programme, our internal Organisational Development team will be providing a range of tools and training resources to help support you and provide opportunities for personal and team development.

We have available:

• A dedicated page on ConsultOD has been developed to help you navigate the resources and training available. This includes workshops, resources, and tools to support you and teams through the change
• Wellbeing support on ConsultOD developed by our People and Wellbeing team, provides support on a range of subjects such as wellbeing conversations, financial support, and mental health resources
• An open door with our team to help support you through the change, reach out to us directly if you have any development needs that you can’t find within our offer and we’ll try to help/signpost for further support. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll message you back.

To log in to ConsultOD, please use your nhs.net email address. If you have forgotten your password and have no access to your NHS SCW email address to complete a password reset, you can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who can reset this for you.

We are committed to supporting all our staff at this time. We recognise this will be unsettling news for everyone. Do speak to your manager if you have concerns – even if they don’t have an answer to every question, they are there for support.

Our Employee Assistance Programme run by Health Assured is available 24/7 – you can access it by calling 0800 028 0199. Please request the login details from your line manager.

This page has been published on the SCW website to ensure that all our employees, including any who may be temporarily unable to access the SCW network, will have access to important information on the change programme.