The WYAAT Workforce Programme is closely aligned to the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership People Plan Strategy, and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with the aim to train, retain, and reform the best workforce across our system and enable our staff to thrive.

Our key priorities:

Train: Work collaboratively with our six trusts and educational providers to ensure a steady and consistent approach to growing our workforce now and for the future. Invest in upskilling and create opportunities for fast-track development where the need is greatest.

Retrain: Valuing our people and investing in their development to ensure we retain the best workforce that meets the needs of our population. Improve culture, invest in leadership and our peoples’ health and well-being. Being proactive in our approach and demonstrating our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion through the WYAAT workforce strategy.

Reform: Having a workforce that is adaptable and responsive to changing circumstances. Invest in new roles through innovative practice, test and scale initiatives and harnessing digital and technological advances.

Some examples of current areas work where we have started to embed these key priorities include:

• a collaborative approach to international recruitment for different roles and establishing key principles of equity of practice and ethical principles in our approach to global recruitment.
• delivering a WYAAT careers promotional package for roles in theatres, targeting schools and young people. Creating a programme for in-school, virtual and on-site activities.
• workforce planning in areas of service transformation, such as diagnostics pharmacy, green site initiatives to expand patient services and reduce waiting times.
• developing our in-house ‘leaders of tomorrow’ through our bespoke Senior Leadership Programme and placement opportunities.
• collectively working to modernise our digital capability to transform the experience of our workforce, enhancing retention, satisfaction, and engagement leading to greater time for care and excellent patient outcomes.

Our WYAAT trusts continue to face significant pressures through gaps in our workforce and changes to the way we work, largely driven by our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, programme recovery plans, alongside delivering transformational improvements to services.

Our WYAAT workforce response will ensure we meet the goals of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to train, retain, and reform the very best, by promoting West Yorkshire as the place of choice for people to work.

WYAAT’s workforce priorities will focus on the immediate and longer sustainability of its workforce through collaborative initiatives that are agile, innovative, and dynamic.