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IT
skills most lacking amongst voluntary healthcare employees
NEW research
commissioned by the UK Workforce Hub and sponsored by Skills for
Health (SfH) – the sector skills council for the NHS, independent
and voluntary healthcare sectors – has identified the main skills
gaps and skills shortages faced by employers in the voluntary
healthcare sector.
The research examined the nature, scope and impact of skills gaps
and shortages in paid employees within the voluntary sector in 2007.
In terms of skills gaps - where healthcare employers in the
voluntary sector report having employees who are not fully
proficient at their job - the top 10 gaps cited were:-
1. Strategic use of IT (26%)
2. Fundraising skills (24%)
3. Communication skills (21%)
4. Marketing skills (19%)
5. Health and safety skills (19%)
6. Team working (17%)
7. Strategic planning & forward thinking skills (17%)
8. Leadership skills (16%)
9. Monitoring and evaluation skills (14%)
10. Legal knowledge (14%)
40% of employers within the voluntary healthcare sector report an ‘increased
time taken to deliver work’ as a result of their employees’
skills gaps, but the most frequently reported impact was ‘increased
workload’. ‘Communication skills’ was top of the
list of skills shortages reported by healthcare employers in the
voluntary healthcare sector (23%); followed by ‘the strategic use
of IT’ (16%) and ‘team work’ (14%). Skills shortages are
those ‘hard to fill’ vacancies which are the result of a lack
of required basic or specialist skills, qualifications or experience
in job applicants. Healthcare was the 3rd most likely function
to experience these hard to fill vacancies, less than one percentage
point behind Youth Work and Social Care Provision.
Commenting on the findings, John Rogers, Chief Executive of Skills
for Health said:- “This report raises some challenges for the
healthcare sector as a whole which need to be addressed in
partnership between individuals, organisations and government. The
findings will help refine Skills for Health’s work towards
developing a skilled, flexible and productive workforce for the
entire healthcare sector in England.”
The 75-page report; entitled Voluntary Sector Skills Survey 2007 –
England, is available via the National Council for Voluntary
Organisations’
website.
UK'S BIGGEST HEALTH UNION CALLS FOR NHS CLEANER RECRUITMENT TARGETS
UNISON, the
UK¹s largest health union, is calling on the Government to set
recruitment targets for NHS cleaners to help eradicate the spread of
killer hospital acquired infections including MRSA and C Difficile.
The union says that there is a direct and irrefutable correlation
between the dramatic rise in the number of people suffering and
dying from hospital superbugs in the past 20 years and the declining
number of NHS cleaners, which have almost halved during the same
period.
Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health, said:- “People are
genuinely fearful about going into hospital because of the deadly
grip of superbugs such as MRSA and C Difficile on the wards. We have
seen targets set for recruiting nurses, midwives and doctors, so why
not also establish targets for hospital cleaners?
Government targets would speed up the urgently needed return
of cleaners to our wards, so that patients and the public see a very
visible and reassuring presence. These cleaners should support
nursing staff to keep wards free of infections. They should also be
part of the infection control team and have training in “clever
cleaning”. They will have expertise in targeting danger areas
including “near touch” areas around a patient¹s bed, buzzer, locker
and curtains.
We also need to give cleaning staff the right tools for the job:
higher quality equipment and cleaning products and review
open-all-hours visiting times. Taken together, these are the ways to
combat cross infection and ensure that our wards and hospitals are
kept infection free.” |
Halloween at the Latin Lounge
WE had a fun
time at the Latin Lounge, on Post Office Ave., Southport on
Wednesday 31 October 2007.
Yes, we held a night
of Free Magic at the venue, and it when down very well with all who
attended.
Matt Colman who performed his
tricks on a one to one bases and to small groups, so all could see
his magical talent and could participate in the trickery being
shown.
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