Safe Staffing - CCDM

Problem Statement

The Safe Staffing Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) Programme is a set of tools and processes that will enable CM Health to better match capacity to care with the demands of our population.

Safe Staffing has been recognised as an issue in New Zealand and as such, implementation of the CCDM Programme has been mandated by the Ministry of Health, with full implementation required by 30 June 2021.

The CCDM Programme provides a comprehensive framework with a whole of hospital approach. The organisational change required to implement the programme will give CM Health the infrastructure to start effectively managing spending on nursing and midwifery care, using an accurate data-based approach to determine the actual workforce requirements to meet patient demand.

What are we trying to achieve?

Through the CCDM Programme, our goals are to:

• deliver quality patient care and improve patient outcomes
  • improve quality data access and literacy
  • create opportunities to develop and deliver quality improvement strategies locally
• improve the work environment for staff
  • re-engineer rosters and base staffing models
  • improve reallocation and escalation guidelines
  • improve visibility of staffing and acuity
• make the best use of our resources
  • minimise the use of bureau and agency staff
  • reduce excess accrued leave
  • reduce sick leave
• reduce attrition.

What have we done?

CM Health has an established a CCDM Council to provide overall governance for the programme and is in the process of developing local safe staffing committees for each service. Governance at every level will ensure that the programme’s implementation, monitoring and improvements are planned, coordinated and appropriate for staff and patients.

The CCDM team is growing, with the appointment of two full-time Safe Staffing CCDM coordinators and two full-time TrendCare coordinators.

In February 2019, the Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces Unit completed an assessment of CM Health’s performance against the CCDM standards. The assessment found that CM Health is making good progress against the standards for implementation, and highlighted the need for implementation of the TrendCare software to be the focus for the next year. Roll-out of the TrendCare software will begin at the end of July 2019, with a pilot in the Adult Rehabilitation and Health of Older People service.

We have established working groups for the core data set and variance response management, with action plans in place to increase the visibility of the data, and develop tools and processes to respond to variance in the care hours available.

Where to from here?

The plan for 2019/2020 includes:

• implementing TrendCare in all acute inpatient wards and units
• developing a variance response management system
• developing a data visualisation tool for patient experience and care, staffing and resource use
• facilitating change management across the organisation
• planning for CCDM implementation in non-acuity areas, such as theatres and the community.