Career planning for the non-clinical workforce – an opportunity to develop a sustainable workforce in primary care

Abstract

Many health and social care systems worldwide have been developing a variety of navigator and signposting roles to help patients negotiate care through increasingly complex systems and multiple provider agencies. This UK project aims to explore, through a combination of job description review and workshops of stakeholders, the common competencies and features of non-clinical roles. The information is collated to develop common job descriptions at four key levels. These form the basis for a career pathway supported by portfolio-based educational programmes, embracing Apprenticeship Training Programmes. The programmes have the potential to support recruitment and retention of an increasingly skilled workforce to move between traditional health and social care provider boundaries. This offers the opportunity to release clinicians from significant administrative workload and support patients in an integrated care system.

Keywords:

• Non-clinical care navigation
• career development
• core competencies

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to the OHSEL team, in particular, Paul White and Kate Pavlidou for their support and encouragement, and also to all those who gave valuable comments and insight into this important, and largely untapped, workforce resource.