Case study

Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust

Age Positive Champion

At Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust, a third of staff are aged 50 or over. This means that a significant proportion of the workforce are likely to be making decisions about work or retirement in the relatively near future.

The need for the Trust to hold onto people with experience and skills is very important to us.

Mandy Wilson, Human Resource Manager

OUR AGE POSITIVE GOOD PRACTICE:

• We encourage staff who are thinking of retirement to consider various options:
• 'Wind down' - as an alternative to simply retiring staff can opt to wind down by working fewer days/hours than their current post.
• 'Step down' - for staff who would like to give up the pressure and responsibilities of their current role but rather than leave work altogether, step down into a less demanding job but which makes use of their skills and experience.
• Register to work for our Staff Bank Bureau – taking retirement, then opting to work on an “as and when” basis, giving an opportunity to pick and chose the hours worked.
• At April 2005, staff registered with the bureau were :
  Age Group - Registered to work
  55 to 59 years of age - 91
  60 to 64 years of age - 53
  65 to 69 years of age - 13
  70 years of age and over - 2
• or Remain in post.

Return to Practice

The ‘Return to Practice’ initiative aims to appeal to people who have worked for the NHS in the past and are considering returning but have let their registrations lapse. There may have been changes in the organisation of healthcare, in the introduction of new technology and in changes to practice but we recognise that individuals’ existing knowledge and expertise can be updated.

We provide a structured refresher course to update skills and knowledge. Run in conjunction with West Herts Hospital NHS Trust and the University of Hertfordshire, the 15 week programme offers both classroom based learning and 120 hours of practice placement. There is support for returnees including bursaries and allowances and opportunities to develop and acquire new skills.

Age Discrimination Workshops

We run Age Discrimination Workshops in conjunction with Age Concern. The workshops are for staff at all levels and aim to challenge thinking and views about older people.

BENEFITS OF OUR GOOD PRACTICE:

Barbara Grant (74) is a Medical Secretary working full-time (37 hours per week) with 20 years service in the NHS. Barbara likes working in the NHS, finds the work interesting, feels she is doing something useful and making a contribution. She also feels the NHS is a good organisation for women to progress in. At 65, Barbara was not in the NHS pension scheme, so has carried on working and wants to continue to do so. Most of her training and development had been on the job and she believes she had learnt a lot from the different consultants she had worked with over the years. On the matter of age, Barbara comments: “I was once getting negative remarks from a colleague about my age. But it was dealt with by line management, who were very supportive.” Barbara says that older people in the workplace have experience and commitment to offer an employer and, not having family responsibilities that staff with school age children have, are able to fill in flexible working gaps.

Michael Eley (20) is a Care Assistant in Acute Mental Health. He works full time (37.5 hours per week) with 2 years service in the NHS. Michael wanted a job that was different and had a friend who has mental health problems, which interested him in working in the field. He enjoys his job and all aspects of dealing with people who use the service. He has regular supervision with a senior member of the ward team and has recently started NVQ 3 in Health Care. “Even though I haven’t had that much experience, I definitely don’t feel my age has held me back at all.,” says Michael. “All the ward staff and unit managers have been really supportive and I hope to get into full nurse training.”

Ann Holden (50) is Clinical Nurse Manager with five years experience in the NHS. Ann had trained to be a Mental Health Nurse in the 1970s but left the service three months before qualifying to go on maternity leave and did not return. Having worked in marketing while raising a family, Ann decided to return to nursing in 1997 and took the necessary qualification. In the five years since qualification, Ann has progressed her career to her current senior role within the unit. She has had regular appraisals and her manager has supported her personal development plan. Ann rates the training opportunities she has accessed whilst working in the Trust as excellent. Ann believes her age has not been a barrier to any aspect of her working life.

Go to top of page

Go back to Case Studies page

20 KEY FACTS your business needs to know about age legislation and retirement