Small changes. Big impact

Sarah Kelly, Workforce Development Manager at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, has been working to encourage a more flexible working culture at the Trust as part of the NHS People Promise. In her blog below, she shares an example of a system set up by their pharmacy team, to provide a little flexibility to everyone in the team, while still maintaining the same level of clinical service.

 

At Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, our pharmacy department has introduced a new bespoke system, based on a well-established flexi-time model, to enable everyone who opts in to enjoy half a day off every two weeks.

Anyone who has been part of a team delivering a clinical service knows that it’s not easy to allow people to work flexibly AND deliver that clinical service in a way that meets the needs of our patients.

Embracing the NHS People Promise

At CNTW, we have embraced the NHS People Promise – ‘We work flexibly’ and are keen to support staff in looking at how everyone can build in an element of flexibility, even for those roles where the parameters for flexing working patterns are quite tight.

However, by working together as a team to agree a system, our Pharmacy Department have managed to offer everyone in their team (both clinical and non-clinical roles) the option of a little bit more flexibility in their working week.

The idea is that people shorten their lunch break and build up a small amount of flexi-time, which amounts to approximately half a day after 9 working days (two working weeks if full time 37.5hrs).

A system that everyone can take part in

The team devised the system, so that everyone can take part, even those who already have a separate flexible working agreement in place. So whether you’re part-time, full-time, start early, start later, work in a clinical role or non-clinical role, you can take part.

And while shaving 10 minutes a day off of your lunchbreak doesn’t sound like much – the team have found that the half day every couple of weeks really does make a difference. The system has received really positive feedback and nearly everyone in the department has opted in. They’ve also managed to maintain the same full level of service within the same hours, with colleagues still on hand to dispense medicines to wards as needed.

Providing clear guidance

The success of the system relies on the good will, positivity and flexibility of all staff involved. The manager of the department calculated the hours everyone needs to work based on their contract (eg full time or part time etc) and they developed clear guidance to ensure everyone knows exactly how the system works. For example:

• Everyone needs to keep their calendars updated and all time needs to be logged on the Working Time Directive system.
• Time should not taken outside of the fortnight or be accrued in replacement of annual leave.
• The time accrued cannot split (e.g. can’t take two shorter finishing days instead of taking the half day in one go).
• Colleagues must ensure that they have completed the requirements of their role (operational, training and clinical duties) – no cover or passing on of duties should be needed.
• In exceptional circumstances the arrangement may be paused (due to sickness levels etc).

You can always find a way

What I think makes this a good example is that despite the team needing to deliver a service to the rest of the organisation, within set hours, they have managed to find a way to offer some flexibility to staff.

The feedback shows that you don’t always have to make ‘big’ changes to be able to make a difference. The nature of work for the majority of teams in the NHS means that it’s not always possible to offer the same level of flexibility across the organisation – BUT I do think that there are so many different ways in which people can introduce an element of flexibility, even if it’s just little. We just need to think a bit more creatively. It can make a big difference.