Northern Investing for Health Partnership

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(No Transcript)
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Northern Investing for Health Partnership

• Essential Skills Seminar
• 11 June 2008
• Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick

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Cllr Adrian Cochrane-WatsonMayor of Antrim
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Background Context to Essential Skills
ProjectHilary JohnstonNorthern Investing for
Health Partnership
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NIFHP

• 10 Local Councils
• NI Housing Executive
• NEELB
• EGSA
• Surestart
• NHSSB
• Northern HSC Trust
• NHSSC
• NACYPC
• Eaga

• Community Foundation
• 10 LSPs
• Community Transport
• CAB
• 10 Community Networks
• NNHAZ
• CDHN
• RoSPA
• HW Strategy Groups
• NEA NI..

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Overview of the Essential Skills Project Launch
of Literature Review Ann OsborneEGSA
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• Ann Osborne
• EGSA Connecting Adults with Learning

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Outline

• Overview of project aims
• Some findings from the Literature Review
• Overview of project activities
• Challenges and possible solutions

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EGSA Connecting Adults with Learning

• local, independent, not-for-profit, frontline
  service that aims to connect adults with
  learning.
• network of local offices based across Northern
  Ireland
• provide information, advice and guidance on
  learning and work.

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EGSA offers

• A range of services to organisations, employers,
  business and individuals wishing to develop
  through learning
• Consultancy and advice to support organisations
  in identifying learning needs and develop
  customised packages to meet their requirements
• Support to adults enabling them to access and
  progress through learning

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Essential Skills Project

• Literature Review
• Baseline Survey
• Essential Skills Awareness Raising Training
• Support and brokering

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Target groups

• Training for front-line staff to support
  patients/clients with Essential Skills needs
• Training for managers and supervisors to support
  employees with Essential Skills needs

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Project Activities

• Essential Skills Awareness sessions
• Health trusts
• Voluntary sector health groups
• Library Service
• Surestart
• Local Employers
• Neighbourhood Wardens

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Project Activities

• Development of Keep it Clear
• Extended Schools Event
• Seminar for local councils
• Skills for Health CD rom pilot in partnership
  with WPU

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Literature Review

• Relationship between Essential Skills needs and
  poor health/ lifestyle practices
• Health Literacy
• Impact of learning on health

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Essential Skills in NI

• Almost 1 in 4 adults have significant
  deficiencies in literacy and numeracy and the
  Labour Force Survey shows us that over one in
  three of the workforce not qualified to level 2
  in the National Qualifications Framework and,
  within this group almost one quarter have no
  qualifications at all
• (Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland November
  2004)

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Health Related PracticesBynner Parsons
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Healthy Lifestyle Practices

• People with low literacy are more likely than
  others to take part in unhealthy lifestyle
  practices
• Smoking
• Poor nutrition
• Infrequent physical activity
• Less prevalence of breast feeding
  (Report on the Health of Canadians)

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Bynner Parsons 2006

• Poor skills were linked to poor health related
  practices. While no more than 1 in 5 men and
  women reported that they did not exercise, this
  increased among men with Entry Level 2 numeracy
  to 1 in 3
• A much higher proportion of men (28) and women
  (32) with Entry level 2 literacy reported
  symptoms of depression than men (11) and women
  (16) at level 2 or above.

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Health Literacy

• Health literacy represents the cognitive and
  social skills which determine the motivation and
  ability of individuals to gain access to,
  understand and use information in ways which
  promote and maintain good health.
• World Health Organisation

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Health Literacy

• Navigating healthcare systems
• Engaging in self management / lifestyle choices
• Participating in decision making

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Self-management and learning

• Shared responsibility between physician and
  patient
• Adults with Essential Skills needs adopt a range
  of strategies to deal with the demands of
  engaging healthcare services
• Dealing with ill health engages individuals in
  informal and self-directed learning.

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Access to Health Information

• Health literacy means more than just reading
  information. It involves taking part in decision
  making and understanding options. Patients need
  time to review material. Health practitioners
  need to understand that one leaflet cannot
  accommodate the whole patient population.
  (NALA)

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Example

• For patients with low literacy its as though
  they have received the toolkit, but not the
  operating instructions. Because our health system
  expects patients to be able to read at a very
  high level, we may be leaving a lot of patients
  in the dark
  
• (Dr Dean Shillenger)

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Medical Information

• There are hundreds of stories of people who
  failed to respond to prescription drug treatment
  because they took the incorrect dose at the wrong
  time of day (Ontario Public Health Association)

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R.o.I Research

• This research shows that people have struggled
  with essential health information, consent forms,
  have not fully understood procedures, found
  signage confusing and did not feel capable of
  taking part in decision making. Fear is a big
  barrier to communication. (NALA)

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Readability

• Survey of readability of patient information
  produced by hospices and pallative care units in
  UK found that 64 of leaflets were readable by
  only 40 of the population. (NCC)

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Oral Communication

• A number of medical practitioners have indicated
  that they eventually came to realise that what
  they initially thought was lack of compliance by
  their patients was instead a lack of
  understanding (OPHA)

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NIACE Survey 2000

• General benefits
• New found confidence
• Enjoyment of learning
• Contact with other people
• New friends
• New voluntary work or employment

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Physical health benefits

• Only 13 of respondents said they had NOT noticed
  any benefits to their physical health
• Learners felt less ill, managed pain more
  effectively and felt less tired
• Feeling better, visiting doctor less
• Better health behaviours, improved family health,
  psychological well being

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Emotional and Mental Health benefits

• 89 of respondents felt that there had been a
  positive emotional or mental health benefit from
  their learning
• Feeling mentally better
• Helped with mental illness
• Change in behaviours

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The Challenges

• Raising the skills level of employees
• Improving health literacy
• Improving customer care to service users with
  Essential Skills needs

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Challenges - Engaging adults in Essential Skills
Learning

• Perception of stigma around Essential Skills
• Poor school experience
• Feeling too old to go back to school
• Feeling too stupid to attend class
• Feeling isolated
• Lack of motivation
• Have difficulty in attending classes due to
  work and family commitments

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Challenges

• Making health related information more accessible
  to those who lack confidence with their reading
  skills
• Understanding the needs of adults with poor
  Essential Skills when accessing health services
• Talking about Essential Skills and signposting
  service users to appropriate support

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Essential Skills ART

• Improved awareness of Essential Skills needs
  across your organisation
• Staff trained to identify, support and motivate
  people to address their Essential Skills needs
• Access to information and on Essential Skills
  provision and support across Northern Ireland

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Keep it Clear

• Based on Plain English principles and experience
  of working with adults with Essential Skills
  needs
• Ensure that information is presented in a clear,
  easy to read style
• Increase accessibility to your services
• Help get your message across

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Comments from Participants

• patient wise we are developing group sessions
  on nutrition and have now changed to more visual
  displays. Language is now more in laymans terms
  and less technical. I am more conscious of
  language in invitation letters to pitch them at
  the right level

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Comments from Participants

• The information given was very appropriate and
  as a student nurse helped me understand how I can
  help patients and act as an advocate for them
  with regard to education
• I feel with regard to patients I am more aware
  of services available to refer to

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EGSA Health Related Activities

• Health professionals as learning advocates
• Health Literacy and Essential Skills
• Employees in the health trusts

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Project Challenges

• Finding a way in
• RPA
• Priorities/commitment

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Project wins Successful Partnerships

• Commitment of the Northern Investing for Health
  Team
• Partnership working

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Next Steps

• Need to create effective links to reach the hard
  to reach
• Partnership working
• Further awareness raising to gain commitment and
  buy in
• Co-ordinated effort

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Contact Details

• E ann.osborne_at_egsa.org.uk
• W www.connect2learn.org.uk
• T 028 90244274

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Update on Essential Skills StrategyDeirdre
McGill Department for Employment and Learning
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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Essential Skills for Living
• DEIRDRE McGILL

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY
ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• A Rationale for Action
• The 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey
  shows
• 24 of the adult population in Northern Ireland
  performed at the lowest level of literacy
  competence.
• Additionally
• 19 of those in employment are at Level 1
• 28 at Level 2

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY
ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• What do we mean by low levels of Essential
  Skills?
• Entry Levels 1 and 2 survival level.
  Equivalent to reading age of 5-7 years
• Entry Level 3 Equivalent to reading age of 7-11
  years
• Level 1 functional level. Equivalent to
  reading age 11-14 years
• Level 2 operational level. Equivalent to
  reading age 14-16 years.

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY
ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• The Effects
• 5 times more likely to be unemployed
• most likely to be in unskilled or semi-skilled
  jobs
• more likely to suffer ill health
• more likely to be homeless
• more likely to suffer from depression
• less likely to take part in public activities or
  local community groups

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY
ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Health impacts
• Poor literacy skills impact on the health of the
  individual and their family.
• Research shows they are
• - more likely to be admitted to hospital
• - have more outpatient visits and
• - have complications in chronic illnesses and
  are less likely to avail of preventative
  services.
• Link between learning and a healthy lifestyle eg
  giving up smoking, taking more exercise.

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Strategy launched in October 2002
• Funding provided to support 18,500 Essential
  Skills qualifications by March 2007

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date
• New learner qualifications from Entry Level to
  L2.
• New tutor qualifications from Level 2 to
  post-graduate level.
• Tracking system to measure performance of
  learners.
• A support system to improve quality of provision.

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date - Promotional Campaign
• Gremlins launched in 2003 very successful
• Wide range of promotional activities TV and
  radio, press, leaflets
• New promotional campaign being developed for
  September 2008
• Essential Skills Awards

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date
• Essential Skills integrated into DEL programmes
  eg Training for Success
• Cross-departmental work with DHSSPS, DE, DFP
• Wider public sector involvement including Health
  Service and District Councils
• Pilot programme to trial ICT as the third
  Essential Skill.
• Family Literacy

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date the Workplace
• Health Sector initiatives
• ANIC brokerage role with Trusts
• EGSA Awareness raising activities
• Unison Union Learning projects across all the
  Trusts

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date the Workplace
• Brokerage contracts with Sector Skills Councils
• - Asset Skills
• - Go Skills
• - Summit Skills
• Union Learning Fund
• NICS Workplace 2010
• Investors in People
• Promotional Activities

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Progress to date Engaging the Learners
• PSA Target March 2007 - to support 18,500
  qualifications - Achieved
• To date - over 32,000 qualifications achieved

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• Impact of the Strategy
• Frontline evaluation of Strategy in 2006
• Findings
• Strategy is making an immediate difference to
  individuals
• Longer term difference to society and economy
  increasing employability, educational
  progression, social inclusion, family benefits
• Positive feedback on Essential Skills delivery

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS STRATEGY

• New PSA Target
• By March 2011, to support the achievement of
  38,000 Essential Skills qualifications in
  literacy and numeracy and 4,000 in ICT
• Way Forward
• - Greater employer engagement
• - Engaging the hardest to reach groups

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Essential Skills in Practice A Trust
PerspectiveClare ONeill Northern Regional
CollegeCarol Dodds Northern Health Social
Care Trust
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Essential Skills in Practice A Trust
Perspective

• Clare ONeill, NRC
• Carol Dodds, NHSCT

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Situation Key Drivers

• 24 N.I. population difficulties with literacy/
  numeracy
• DEL essential skills strategy
• Focussed approach from FE sector

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Situation Key Drivers

• Trade union participation
• NHSCT 14,000 staff
• 40 staff employed in areas where educational
  qualifications not required

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Approach

• Identified groups of staff
• Sought views of line managers
• Consulted with union representatives
• Selected from a range of providers
• Information stands, payslips, notices
• Commenced pilot

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Range of Opportunities
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Impact on Staff

• Increased life skills
• Increased job skills
• Ability to use and understand IT
• Social inclusion
• Self-confidence
• Feeling valued and motivated
• Desire for further learning

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Managers Perspective

• Difficulties
• Opportunity costs
• Release of staff
• Timing of courses
• Benefits
• Improved working relationships
• Motivation
• Confidence

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• My staff and I have realised the benefits over
  the obstacles. At first all we could see was the
  difficulties we were going to have in providing a
  service to patients whilst staff were off being
  trained. However, we passed that once we saw the
  change in staff.

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Benefits to the Organisation

• Organisation development
• Learning organisation
• Knowledge and Skills Framework
• Retention of staff
• Domestic Services (Causeway) turnover reduced
  from 41 in 2003 to 10 in 2007
• Increased accuracy and efficiency
• Improved communication
• Investors in People/RQIA
• National and regional recognition

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Way Forward

• Smaller teams bigger partnerships
• WPU EGSA NRC Unions Trust
• Pooling resources, flexible provision, innovation
• Sustained funding and commitment
• New programmes VRQ, BICS

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Overview of the work of the Widening
Participation UnitPaul Donaghy Widening
Participation Unit
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UNLEASHING TALENT in Health Social Care Mr
Paul Donaghy Head of Widening Participation
Beeches Widening Participation Unit
NIfH Partnership - Essential Skills
Seminar Wednesday 11th June 2008
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• HSC Support Staff Learning Fast Facts
• HSC has a workforce of 65,000 staff, 79 are
  female and 39 work part time.
• Support staff (Band 1, 2 and 3) make up some
  40 of the HSC workforce.
• 50 Of HPSS staff hold professional or clinical
  qualifications, so 50 dont.
• 18 of the HSC workforce, amounting to 14,000
  workers have literacy
• support needs.
• About 20,000 HPSS staff lack level 2
  qualifications (broadly equivalent to
• 5 GCSE passes at Level A C).
• The DHSSPSNI spends about 130 million per year
  on training. (Trusts likely
• spend a similar amount)
• 0.5 million, 0.4 is ring fenced for support
  staff.
• Ancillary, works and maintenance staff make up
  10 of the HSC workforce.
• In the 2003/4 year this group received 0.3 of
  the central training spend.
• Up to 80 of staff recruited to support staff
  roles left school with few or
• no qualifications.

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• Support Staff Learning The Business Case
• Increases staff capacity - not working harder
  but smarter
• Improves individual and team performance and
  thereby organisational performance.
• Delivers service improvements from the inside
  gt out
• Builds confidence and self esteem
• Increases motivation and more clever working
  thus increases productivity
• Develops reflective practitioners
• Helps support staff manage change
• Helps evidence clinical and social care
  governance requirements
• Aligns support staff needs with competency
  frameworks such as the KSF, NOS, essential
• skills and Social Care Induction/Registration
  requirements.
• Helps the HPSS become an Employer of Choice
  at a time when the health care needs of
• our community are increasing (with an ageing
  population) but at a time of a decreasing
• number of school leavers.
• Aligns Trust commitments to IIP and the NHS
  Leadership Framework with widening
• participation in learning for support staff.
• Directs support to the front line as support
  staff are a key part of front line service
  delivery
• Delivers fairer access to learning and helps
  build a workplace learning culture

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• WPU was established in 2006 to help ensure
  support staff are equipped to meet the future
  needs of the HSC Workforce.
• Over the last 2 years testing trialling ways to
  build on existing good practice
• To up-skill staff and release energy, unlock
  creativity
• Move beyond traditional training approaches.
• Liberate talent rather than focus on skill
  deficiencies
• Embed language, literacy, numeracy and IT
  within a wider vocational
• (workbased skills) and whole organisation
  approach to learning
• Adopt learner centred and learning by doing
  approaches - as the workplace is
• the classroom for our support staff
• Turn staff on to learning create individual
  learning plans.

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• Unleashing Talent
• Changes behaviour, attitudes motivation which
  in turn delivers better patient and client
  care.
• Realise Your Potential
• Health Social Care Progression Certificate,
  embeds LLN in communications,
• health safety, equality/diversity, service
  improvement, quality and personal
• development.
• Supervisor and employer support and Return on
  Investment.
• Aligns Essential Skills learning with
  empowerment, citizenship,
• TSN, Interdependance and tackles Health
  Inequalities.
• Helps our staff become the best that they can
  be.

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• Finally
• It works The Evidence is there for all to
  see!
• So the question remains is there the will?
• We have removed the excuses and now await the
  response.
• Encouraging so far but we are taking
  non-traditional routes.
• Thanks for listening.
• Questions / Comments?

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A Business Perspective of Essential SkillsTommy
Allen Amicus
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A Business Perspective of Essential Skills

• Tommy Allen
• Workplace Learning Advisor
• Unite the Union-Amicus section

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A Business Perspective of Essential Skills

• We need to
• BASIC SKILL,
• before we can -
• Up skill or Re skill

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Union Learning Fund NI

• Introduced 2002- minimal funding, anticipated
  failure
• Objectives - overcome barriers, increase
  workplace learning, addressing ES needs
• Funding 2 / 3 year period from DEL
• Project managed by Clare Caulfield - Amicus /
  Unite
• Currently 19 projects 48 classes on province
  wide

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Union Learning Fund NI
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Union Learning Representative (ULR)

• Educational innovation - from trade union
  movement
• Provide initial advice and guidance (signpost
  persons)
• Trained to promote and support workplace learning
• Identify learning skill needs in the workplace
• Secure equal opportunities in learning training
• The thrust motivating force behind Essential
  Skills / Union Learning projects

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Current Workplace Projects

• Dept of Regional Development (DRD) NI Water
  Service
• 450 assessed in Literacy IT total of 800 -
  phase 1
• Withdrawal of numeracy assessments poor results
• 22 difficulty in reading, 16 difficulty in
  writing
• Lifelong Learning Committee established.
• Driving success confidence building by Amicus
  ULRs

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On-going Major ES Workplace Projects

• Bombardier
  FG Wilson
• Queens
  University
• University
  of Ulster
• Diageo
• Translink

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Essential Skills Poor Health

• Real time experiences
• NI Water
• University of Ulster

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The Future ???

• 10,223 qualified in ES, 2007-2008 (source DEL)
• Improved employee performance motivated
  workforce
• Improved employee self awareness work-life
  balance
• Promote employee loyalty encourage
  participation
• Introduction of cross train ES courses Waste
  management
• Achieve government targets (Leitch) - legislation
  2010 /2020

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A Business Perspective of Essential Skills

• .Skills are capabilities and expertise in a
  particular occupation or activity. The most
  common measure of skills are qualifications
• Lord Sandy
  Leitch

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Union Learning Fund NI - Essential Skills

• For further information/details contact
• Clare Caulfield or
• Tommy Allen
• Unite-Amicus 02890 747871
• clare.caulfield_at_unitetheunion.com

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Workshops Overcoming Barriers to Essential
Skills The Way Forward
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Feedback from WorkshopsAnn Osborne EGSA
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Next StepsHilary Johnston Northern Investing
for Health Partnership