Boost for children's services with new staffing model
A significant transformation within Swansea Bay’s paediatric consultant workforce aims to deliver even better care for children, and improve staff wellbeing.
The changes have taken place in Morriston Hospital’s two paediatric wards – Oakwood Ward and Ward M - along with the Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU).
Two new consultants have joined to help create a more agile paediatric workforce, and new opportunities of further training and development for trainee staff have been introduced.
The senior management team, medical HR, workforce and paediatric consultants worked together to create the new working model, which launched in January.
Dr Sujoy Banerjee, Consultant Neonatologist and Clinical Director of Children and Young People Division at Singleton Hospital, said: “This is one of the most significant changes in the paediatric medical workforce for a long time.
“Due to the mix within the workforce, roles were not consistent and that resulted in some complications in reaching an agreement on what is the best way to deliver services within the medical workforce.
PICTURED: Paediatric Consultants Matt Ryan (left) and Carwyn Dafydd.
“The main discussion was the balance between elective and emergency care along with equity of service.
“We recruited two new consultants to give us more depth. It has allowed us to plan a more robust workforce model, while we now have two consultants – rather than one as we had previously – looking after every clinical area.
“We have also strengthened our middle grade roles through new recruitment and prompt replacement of certain posts which were unfilled.”
Dr Pramodh Vallabhaneni, Consultant Paediatrician and Clinical Lead for General Paediatrics, said: “The senior management team is thankful to the paediatric consultant workforce for coming on board, identifying the change that was needed for the wellbeing of consultants and better care provision for children.
“The health board’s values really came to the fore in this. We have worked together to deliver this new plan - HR, management, the clinical team, even the nursing team because of the outpatients demand and restructuring, everyone had a role.”
Sue Kotrzuba, Assistant Divisional Manager, Children and Young People, added: “Paediatricians are a very specialist group so workforce, recruitment and staff working together was fundamental to agreeing and implementing the change.
“Bringing equity really helps raise the morale of the team, which is so important not only for our team but for patients too.”
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