Service Alignment and e-Job Planning Levels of Attainment
Levels of Attainment
In 2019 the NHS published a document describing five levels of attainment that Trusts would need to progress through in terms of implementing their e-job planning systems to achieve productivity gains. The information
below shows these levels of attainment and explains how, by implementing different parts of the Delivery-to-Demand (D2D) matching cycle, NHS service leads can achieve the highest level of attainment and close the gap between demand and delivery and realise true productivity gains.
Level 0 - Incomplete implementation of e-job planning
E-job planning is not widespread, and it is difficult to collate and standardise Programme Activity (PA) information. There are extremely limited processes in place to ensure resources are matched to patient demand. This results in ineffective service planning and makes data collection and reconciliation almost
irrelevant.
Level 1 - Implementation of basic e-job planning
More than 90% of consultants have a signed-off job plan. It is now possible to see what clinical activities should be delivered each week. Service planning is easier. For example, if a new pathway is needed then time can be allocated in job plans. The match between service and demand is better but there is still no translation of contractual PAs into planned or expected delivery in terms of clinical output.
Level 2 - Links to Clinical Ouput
The matching between delivery and demand is improved as contractual PAs are linked to an agreed average clinical output. i.e. there is an expected delivery per PA or session. This means that service planning can at least factor in expected delivery per week. However, at Level 2 only the time allocated to activities can be periodically reconciled against the actual time taken to deliver these activities and there is no systematic checking or validation of planned versus actual delivery.
Level 3 - Implementation of Delivery to Demand Matching Cycle
Attainment of Level 3 means there are robust processes inplace to facilitate the matching of delivery to demand. Most importantly the common language of PAs flows from service planning, through job planning and is linked to clinical output. Continuously throughout the year, the match between delivery and demand is analysed and reviewed so any significant mismatches can be addressed early and additional costs of managing these mismatches can be kept to a minimum. Having implemented a robust delivery to demandmatching cycle, only then can an organisation move to Level 4.
Level 4 - Board-level accountability for monitoring e-job planning
Level 4 requires board-level accountability for the monitoring of e-job planning across all workforce groups and the implementation of a robust, reliable and regular auditing and review process. Align means that the board is also able to continously monitor the match between service delivery and patient demand across the Trust and the use of avoidable temporary capacity cost.
What the NHS is saying:
"The Job Plan Match information helps us continuously assess how well our reporting activity is matched to our job plans. This has helped us identify operational improvements and means our reporting is more closely aligned to our job plans. It also means we are better able to rationalise any additional sources of capacity that we use."
Tim Billins,
Divisional Director of Operations for MVH and CSS
