Stakeholder engagement in recruitment and retention

Stakeholder engagement in recruitment and retention

A priority programme for phase one (2024-2025) of the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care’s Recruitment and Retention workstream was the development of a national Remote and Rural recruitment and retention stakeholder network. The establishment of the National Centre Recruitment & Retention stakeholder engagement network will ensure that the priorities and work of the National Centre stem from ongoing engagement with our community, primary care, community service and multi-agency partners.

National Centre Recruitment & Retention stakeholder engagement network 

The stakeholder engagement network hosts monthly live engagement sessions at distance using digital technologies to ensure the stakeholder sessions are accessible to as many people as possible across Scotland. The format of the sessions provides information on the National Centre’s current programmes aimed at improving remote, rural and island healthcare recruitment and the opportunity for stakeholders to give input on current and future remote and rural recruitment and retention priorities.

Another purpose of the stakeholder network is to help inform the work of the Scottish Government Workforce team who are responsible for developing the Remote and Rural Recruitment and Retention Strategy 2024. More information about the stakeholder sessions is available on our Turas Information Hub site.

This network has a diverse range of stakeholders who meet regularly to exchange knowledge, ideas and key challenges - enabling the Centre to capture the needs and expectations of these organisations and individuals. The sessions also provide a practical platform for stakeholders to share information on new local remote and rural recruitment and retention initiatives with the wider group of health care and community partners.

These stakeholder engagement sessions are aligned with and support the development of the Rural and Islands Workforce Recruitment Strategy (RIWRS) 2024 as part of the Scottish Government National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care. Working together to host and manage the stakeholder network in this way allows the National Centre and Scottish Government to make best use of stakeholder input and time in terms of sharing and gathering information to inform ongoing and future work plans and priorities.

Looking ahead

The National Centre, Scottish Government and Centre for Workforce Supply (CWS) teams are collaborating with the Stakeholder Engagement Network to plan a range of further sessions for the next twelve months in response to priority areas.

CWS, part of NHS Education for Scotland (NES), supports the development and implementation of workforce interventions and policy, which help tackle national and place-based supply challenges. It also promotes the NHS Scotland brand and advertises opportunities to build a career in health and social care, and a home in Scotland.

Future stakeholder engagement sessions in early 2025 will focus specifically on remote, rural, island recruitment and retention for Rural GPs, Rural Dental, Rural Medical Workforce and Rural Social Care. The National Centre also plans to develop a specific Remote and Rural Healthcare Recruitment and Retention Stakeholder Reference Group in early 2025.

NES, as Scottish Government’s strategic delivery partner, is also addressing recruitment and retention priorities through its 2023-26 Corporate Strategy with a focus on People, Partnerships and Performance. It is committed to:

• improving the range, quality, detail, analysis, and reporting of workforce data linked to population health and care needs, working in collaboration with partners.
• building capability around workforce supply to develop resourcing strategies which address supply shortages and provide centralised co-ordination and recruitment expertise.
• enabling a diverse range of people to flourish by widening access to careers in health and primary care so that, whatever a person’s life experience, they have access to education and training to support them with their role and career aspirations.

Collectively, these strategies and programmes will help to create a more joined-up, and sustainable approach to recruitment and retention of skilled staff who provide vital health and care services for our remote, rural and island communities.

For more information visit:
Scottish Government Remote & Rural Recruitment & Retention Strategy 2024 | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

Or contact nes.ruralteam@nhs.scot

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