Primary Care & Community Services Multi-Professional Career Framework

Background

The Primary Care & Community Services Multi-Professional Career Framework is being developed to outline careers and progression for those working in out of hospital services.

In recent years as policy direction has moved towards supporting more patients at home or closer to home, integrated care systems need the workforce to be able to evolve to meet the increasing demand and complexity of patient needs outside of hospital settings. This also requires new ways of working with capabilities-based approaches and embracing innovation and technologies.

The NHS Long Term Plan (2019) set the direction for the NHS by focusing on delivering joined-up, personalised, preventive care, and expanding primary and community services. More recently in 2022, integrated care systems were created to deliver joined-up support to better meet the needs of the population, different parts of the NHS (including hospitals, primary care and community and mental health services) and for health and social care work in a much more joined-up way.

The need

These approaches require a workforce that is fit for the future and requires skilled staff working in out of hospital services collaborating in multi-professional teams. The Community Services Transformation program identified that newly qualified professionals believed careers outside of hospital settings were less likely to provide training, development, and progression opportunities. This led to the inclusion of this primary care and community services career and capabilities framework into the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) to define the career steps to level up career progression in community-based services.

Purpose and scope of framework

This framework aims to improve workforce challenges in primary care and community services by increasing the development opportunities and skills of the workforce. It will outline career stages and progression routes to improve career development and job satisfaction for the healthcare workforce.

It will help to promote and support a range of roles in primary care and community services, from support workers, to newly qualified up to consultant level practice, building awareness of the knowledge and skills of the non-medical workforce aligned to the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023).

Development approach

An expert reference group has been set up, responsible for overseeing the development of the Primary Care & Community Services Multi-Professional Career Framework. The group are working to develop the first iteration of the framework by Spring 2024. Following this, the framework will be open for wider consultation.

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