Award-winning support for local health and care

Lancashire and South Cumbria has been recognised as leading the way in supporting staff who are looking for new opportunities to do so in within the local healthcare system. Retaining and supporting people working in health and care is a big challenge and a priority across Lancashire and South Cumbria. The five NHS hospital trusts are working together to make it easier for staff to move between roles across the region.

The It’s Your Move team works with the trusts to help identify and facilitate suitable job moves for staff within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS).

The project was recognised in the NHS National Retention Awards last month in the category ‘Best Flexible Working Offer to Support Work-Life Balance’. Jointly hosted by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and NHS Improvement, the awards were an opportunity to celebrate those who have been working to improve staff retention across the country.

Paula Roles, Strategic Workforce and HR Lead at Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System said:

“It’s Your Move can make a difference by supporting staff who may need to work more flexibly, for instance by making changes to their contracted hours or work patterns.

If requests for such changes cannot be accommodated within their current role or team, some employees may begin to look for alternative employment. It’s Your Move can help identify alternative posts either within the current employer or the other local NHS trusts, which ensures skills are retained within the local healthcare system.

We are grateful for the support from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Social Partnership Forum, and for backing our award entry.”

It’s Your Move launched in July 2019, thanks to funding by the Local Workforce Action Board (LWAB) – a group of representatives from different organisations who regularly meet to discuss workforce activity and plan improvements.

Karen Partington, Chief Executive for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of LWAB said:

“The Integrated Care System partners were keen to promote our local health and care system as a great place to work, and knew that workforce mobility was a key priority. It’s Your Move makes it easier for staff to move between roles and improves the retention of our fantastic staff across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

By helping staff to stay in their current role or within the local system, the service has achieved a return on investment of £738,000 so far. The next step is to extend It’s Your Move to include primary care and social care.”

For more information, visit the It's Your Move webpage.