Workforce
Our workforce is our most important asset. In H&F we are creating the space and environment for innovative practice development. We encourage trailblazing and new ways of working, enabling our workforce to do what is needed to improve outcomes for our residents.
We want local services to attract and retain the best possible workers. We are signed up to Unison's Ethical Care Charter and are a London Living Wage Employer. We expect the same of our contracted providers.
We welcome diversity throughout our workforce in qualifications, skills, experience and background, and strive to implement conditions to allow best practice to thrive across all practitioner levels. Recognising the diversity of our borough and the communities we serve; we are committed to investing in the development of our workforce to ensure they are able to provide the best support to our residents. We aim to enhance employment opportunities for H&F's diverse community and expect providers to have positive plans to employ local disabled people.
We work closely with Skills for Care in West London and encourage all care providers to engage with Skills for Care, to be part of working groups or to access training and other staff support. We encourage all registered care homes and home care agencies to complete the Capacity Tracker webtool with their data monthly.
You can find out more about the make-up of the local workforce, qualifications and types of roles by looking up Hammersmith & Fulham in the Skills for Care workforce intelligence data tools.
Social Value in Hammersmith & Fulham
Social value is a key part of the added value we seek when sourcing goods, works or services as we recognise that the Act provides a real opportunity to leverage our annual buying power to achieve meaningful outcomes for local people. Our social value webpages set out our approach to how social value is implemented in procurement.
Building Trust
The H&F Building Trust project aims to improve trust, confidence, and experiences of black and other ethnic minority residents in the borough with the Council and NHS. It focuses on reducing health inequalities and discrimination for residents by developing inclusive, community-led solutions.
The project seeks to address health inequalities by building trust and giving residents a platform to share their experiences, particularly regarding racism and discrimination, to transform health and care services to better meet their needs.
We expect providers to actively engage with the Building Trust project, identify residents to participate and foster an environment that actively addresses health inequalities, and listens to the experiences of black residents.
Market engagement and communicating with providers
The Market Position Statement is a basis for ongoing dialogue between Hammersmith & Fulham, stakeholders and providers.
Through provider forums and regular meetings, we aim to keep an ongoing and open dialogue to generate innovative ways of delivering services and keep providers informed. We currently run client area specific provider forums that run on a quarterly basis. See the webpage to learn more about these.
In line with the recent procurement regulations, H&F will be putting out notifications early in the recommissioning cycle to invite suppliers to be involved commissioning discussions and planning. Publishing preliminary notices will be available through the government find a tender service.