As you may be aware, the Trust is in the process of developing a new On-call policy to ensure consistency of treatment and its development is underpinned by the following principles:
- Compliance with Agenda for Change;
- Best practice for addressing incidents;
- The needs expressed by staff, to date, around the Christmas period;
- The cessation of any other local arrangements that may have formed.
Initial thinking for the development of the policy to meet the above principles would suggest that we take forward the following proposals:
- That there will be two Managers On-call, one to cover Sandwell and Wolverhampton and one to cover the Dudley and Walsall localities.
- For Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, the on-call arrangements will be split into two 12-hour shifts, operated by different on-call mangers to meet the needs expressed by the workforce and allow for the effective operation of the service.
- The concept that those required to undertake On-call cover will meet a set of required competencies, rather than be Band driven.
The meeting held on the 19 March 2021, in which the Trust opened the discussions on this development, was helpful as it highlighted a number of suggestions for improvement which, if possible, the Trust would wish to reflect in the new policy or in the wider operational context. Taking account of that initial discussion, it would be helpful if colleagues could comment on the following:
Your responses will be treated as confidential and Mike Crump in HR has been asked to draw any themes from the responses and summarise the views shared. He will ensure that any comments made are not attributable to individual colleagues.
Your views on this matter are important and we would encourage all colleagues to respond by Tuesday 27 April 2021. A summary of the responses will be shared, along with developments in the policy upon which the Trust will consult, in due course.
Many thanks in advance for your continued contribution to this important development for the Trust.