Excellence in Informatics Accrediting Your Informatics Workforce. Process for Accreditation and the Role of Assessors

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1 Excellence in Informatics Accrediting Your Informatics Workforce Process for Accreditation and the Role of Assessors Purpose of Excellence in Informatics Scheme Informatics, traditionally seen as a support function, is increasingly being viewed as a key enabler in supporting better health care. Personal and professional development is an important means of illustrating that a function is flexing and adjusting to changing demands. Professional development is vital in a function where there is no overarching professional framework or regulation. Organisations who put themselves forward for accreditation will be able to share best practice around learning and development. Background to Scheme In the North West s Informatics Sills Development Network has been piloting a set of standards aimed at supporting the accreditation of Informatics functions within our respective organisations. Excellence in Informatics was launched at the Connect 2013 Conference with three pilot organisations gaining their accreditation. Accreditation is based on a relatively straight forward set of standards. These standards are aimed at promoting the personal and professional development of informatics staff, helping to ensure that the informatics community in the North West are recognised nationally for their proactive approach in supporting healthcare. Process for Accreditation 1. Initial expression of interest made to Informatics Skills Development Team. Expression assumes that the Chief Executive and senior responsible officer for informatics supports the application. 2. ISD Team visit the Informatics senior management team and talk through the process. 3. A support package is agreed with the ISD team and an individual from the organisation is allocated to work with the team. 4. Two assessors are assigned to the organisation; one an informatics director/head and the other normally an ISD lead. 5. The organisation will produce the necessary evidence in a mini report, evidencing how they meet the standards, as they deem fit. This report will be sent to the assessors in advance of a pre-assessment visit. 6. The assessors will arrange a pre-assessment visit to the organisation and agree a formal action plan. A decision will be made as to whether 1

2 there is sufficient evidence to move to the next stage of formal assessment. 7. The assessors will arrange a formal assessment visit through the ISD team. 8. Following the visit, the assessors will produce a report of their findings. 9. The assessment report will be submitted to an Accreditation Panel comprising members of the Informatics sub group. 10. The panel will confirm the results and the lead assessor will notify the director/head of informatics and the executive lead for informatics. 11. The lead assessor will also send the accreditation report to the CEO with a covering letter of explanation. 12. Success is celebrated at the annual Connect Conference. Accreditation Visit Following a pre-assessment visit, an accreditation meeting will be arranged in an appropriate time scale (normally between 4-6 weeks after the initial preassessment visit). Assessors will meet with the director/head of informatics, all of the senior team and the ISD lead. It is important that this meeting should focus on best practice around staff development in the organisation. Assessors will wish to meet with a minimum of 3 informatics staff working in the organisation at different levels to elicit their views of how well the informatics service is developing them. Assessors will judge for themselves how many staff they may need to see in order to get a rounded view of how the organisation is developing its informatics staff. Interviewing staff may take a variety of approaches: Random interviews on the day by walking round some of the departments Interviews organised in advance by the ISD lead Group discussion Assessor to randomly select in advance based on an organisational structure Excellence In Informatics Assessment Panel Following the accreditation visit the lead assessor will produce a report making recommendations about whether the organisation meets the required standard. These recommendations will either be accepted by the panel or referred back to the lead assessor (who will be present at the panel meeting) for further information from the organisation. Once the decision is agreed, the lead assessor will notify the organisation of their findings through the report that they have produced for the panel. Role of Assessor The role of the assessor is pivotal to the whole accreditation process. It is essential that assessors work in strategic roles where they understand the breadth of informatics services. Assessors will possess excellent leadership skills, being prepared to tackle differences in evidence between staff and the leadership team. They will be able to communicate effectively their findings and be consistent in applying the evidence. They must be prepared to meet with fellow assessors to share best practice and provide peer support. 2

3 Each assessment will comprise two assessors; a lead assessor and a second assessor. It will be up to the two assessors to decide who takes which role. The lead assessor will be expected to produce the final assessment report and provide feedback to the organisation, as required. It is important that each assessment comprises a director/head of Informatics and one other who may be the ISD Lead. The director/head will act as a peer assessor of another informatics service and will provide the high level support required to ensure that the scheme is owned by the informatics profession. Length of Accreditation Accreditations will expire after 3 years. Accreditation certificates will identify the date for renewal. On the lead up to expiry, organisations will be expected to re-apply for accreditation via the ISD Network. The Accreditation Standards The standards have been tested by a number of informatics services. The standards supporting Excellence in Informatics are currently offered at a foundation level only. It is anticipated that, over time, the standards will be developed by our informatics community so that we will have standards at foundation, intermediate and advanced levels. Types of Evidence Organisations are encouraged to be as innovative as possible when gathering evidence. Case studies and stories of individuals/teams who have clearly demonstrated a link between learning and improved practice are encouraged as are examples of projects which clearly show how a piece of learning has contributed to the development of the project. Organisation Accreditation Report The accreditation standards list the standards and examples of the types of evidence that an organisation might use to demonstrate whether it meets the standards. These are only examples and organisations are encouraged to provide evidence in a variety of different ways. There is no set format for an accreditation report. It needs to demonstrate clearly how the standards have been met. Examples of previous reports are available via the ISD team. Assessor s Report The Assessor s Report should contain the following components: Background of the Trust, turnover, total number of staff in the Trust and how the Informatics functions are arranged together with a breakdown of staff working in informatics as per annual workforce profile. Some details of the Assessment visit, who was there and what types of staff were interviewed. Areas of good practice. 3

4 Recommendations including areas for improvement if the organisation does not meet all the required standards. Any recommended improvements to the standards following feedback from the organisation. Name of lead assessor and job title. Informatics Charter One of the significant aspects of accreditation is that all staff are made aware of the Informatics Charter. This is designed to position development of informatics staff at the heart of an organisation s activities and provide both employers and employees with rights and responsibilities in connection with staff development. All staff should be introduced to this Charter and understand that it forms an important part of their professional development. Scope The standards contained in this document apply to the entire informatics workforce of an organisation. Links will be made to the NW informatics workforce returns that an individual organisation submits, to check on consistency. In very exceptional circumstances it may be possible to request that parts of an informatics workforce are accredited. This will only apply to organisations at a foundation level and may occur where services are managed by two distinct directors. Alison Singleton 13/11/13 Revised 16/10/14 4

5 APPENDIX I Excellence In Informatics, Accrediting Your Informatics Workforce (FOR COMPLETION BY ORGANISATION APPLYING FOR ACCREDITATION) In the context of this document, please read Service as informatics service. STANDARD FOUNDATION LEVEL EXAMPLE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE COLLECTED 1. Infrastructure ISD lead in place with recognition of role in job description or annual objectives. Informatics staff are aware of this role ISD Network involvement recorded Director/Head of the Service holds senior position within the host organisation and their job description/objectives or personal development plan clearly describes professional leadership responsibilities Does the relevant person who represents informatics at Board level have evidence of professional development in the field of informatics? Evidence of regular team briefing. In addition, the director/head of Service communicates with his or her team on a regular basis and there is regular communication with staff at all levels All staff are aware of the Informatics Charter and how to implement it as part of their role. Job Description of person performing the role of ISD Lead. Staff briefing documents which include reference to the ISD Network and development opportunities. Attendance at Leads meetings, involvement in steering groups, action plans resulting from Network meetings. Is the scope of informatics clearly defined on an organisation chart? What area/s of informatics have been determined to be out of scope? Does it clearly illustrate management responsibilities for particular areas of informatics? Includes open door policy, regular communications, regular team meetings, regular communication of the service s priorities, extended meetings allowing team workers to see middle and senior managers in operation. Should include two-way communication and allow issues and questions to flow up from the front line. RAG RATING 5

6 STANDARD FOUNDATION LEVEL EXAMPLE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE COLLECTED 2. Personal development and career planning 3. Professional development All key processes, procedures and work instructions have been documented in some way, to ensure that staff understand what is required of them to ensure that processes are running safely and effectively There is an effective mechanism for regular review of responsibilities and priority-setting, most often via a formal appraisal process % of staff have an agreed, documented Personal Development Plan that is no more than 12 months old All members of team are encouraged to maintain a Personal Development Portfolio which provides evidence of the types of development that an individual has undertaken through their job All staff attend the Trust s induction programme Staff should be able to take up appropriate personal support (eg. mentoring, coaching, use of preceptor, buddying) when agreed with their line manager There is evidence of resources being made available for professional development e.g. Training Policy, use of ISD Network, Assist events etc All staff have information available about various professional bodies, eg. ASSIST, UKChip, BCS and are encouraged by their senior leaders to become members and understand why this is important. Appraisal processes include development opportunities offered by the Network. Unmet general development needs are fed through to the Network via the ISD lead. This provides evidence for an individual and organisation of the specific developmentsboth training and work-related, that staff are undertaking. The portfolio will be crucial in establishing that an individual is keeping up to date professionally. North West Mentoring Scheme RAG RATING 6

7 STANDARD FOUNDATION LEVEL EXAMPLE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE COLLECTED 4. Workforce Planning Services hosting informatics graduate trainees, informatics cadets/apprentices, undergraduate placements, work experience students, should demonstrate that a planned induction has been included as part of the placement and that access is available to important contacts who may/not be employed within the service Staff within the Service possess appropriate and relevant qualifications, where these are available. These are acknowledged as essential on all job descriptions There is a prioritised training plan for the service that identifies resource requirements for staff development There is a structured approach to career development planning. The service identifies key staff members who possess business critical or senior levels of skill/expertise, and takes steps to futureproof the service in case of early or unexpected departure or loss of those individuals. Director/Head of Service: management or professional development qualification Specialist Head/Manager: specialist qualification Project/Programme Manager : Prince 2, MSP, Agile Trainers: training qualifications Clinical Coders: NCCQ Informatics workforce: ITIL, UKChip, EQAS recognised course Technicians: specialist qualifications, eg. Microsoft,ITIL Librarians: CILIP This may include evidence of a dedicated training budget. Use of a recognised approach; NHS Leadership Academy Succession Planning Tool NHS Employers tools and resources Skills for Health Six Steps Centre for Workforce Intelligence Health Informatics careers Framework (hicf) Critical can be defined as essential to the running of the service or part of the service. RAG RATING 7

8 STANDARD FOUNDATION LEVEL EXAMPLE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE COLLECTED 5. People management There is an effective mechanism for regular review of responsibilities and priority-setting for the Service Evidence that the Service has completed the most recent informatics workforce profile All staff can demonstrate how they have contributed to the development of excellent customer service The senior management team have attended formal leadership development programme/s focussed on personal insights to their own leadership style. Examples include terms of reference, notes of meetings such as a customer board, development process, plans. Attendance on customer service training and evidence of follow up actions. Specific examples of good customer service. National Leadership Academy programmes Leadership programmes offered through the ISD Network Local Trust-based leadership programmes RAG RATING 8

9 APPENDIX II A Charter for Informatics staff in the North West This document sets out to articulate some of the behaviours, skills and competencies that are expected from all informatics staff who are working as part of a professional informatics service. The charter can be used as a means of demonstrating evidence of how staff meet the standards. It encourages staff to collect examples, in their day to day work, of how they are working as an informatics professional. The charter also seeks to set out what is expected from an employer in return for staff commitment to working professionally. In your day to day work you will Work to the benefit of patients, your organisation, the NHS and health care as a whole. Understand the aims of the organisation you work for and use your experience skills, competencies and knowledge to its benefit. Work and represent the informatics service in a good light internally and externally to your organisation. Develop your skills, competencies and knowledge on an ongoing basis and record evidence of how you have achieved them. Become a member of a relevant professional organisation and take advantage of the opportunities offered. Use all of the experience, skills, competencies and knowledge you have to best effect. Not over represent your experience, skills, competencies and knowledge or put patients at risk by working outside them. Be honest when mistakes happen and learn from them. Share your experiences, skills and competencies with others. To continue to innovate and improve the way that you work and to use and share best practice. 9

10 In your day to day work your organisation will Give you the opportunity to understand and contribute to the improvement of the wider NHS to the benefit of patients. Explain the aims of the organisation and value your experience skills, competencies and knowledge and how they can be used to their benefit. Have an annual appraisal with you where you can agree a plan to develop your skills, competencies and knowledge on an on going basis and keep a record of them. Provide you with some dedicated time to work on your developmental plan and review this with you on a regular basis. Encourage staff to join a relevant professional organisation and attend relevant professional events. Be honest with you with regard to your performance and help you deliver to the best of your ability. Provide you with opportunities to use all of the experience, skills, competencies and knowledge you have to best effect. Support you when genuine mistakes happen and help you learn from them. Not expect you to put patients at risk by working outside your experience, skills, competencies and knowledge. Give you the time to share your experiences, skills and competencies with others. Continue to innovate and improve the way the department runs and share best practice across the organisation and beyond. NHS North West ISD Network A Charter for Informatics Staff in the North West