Written by Aimee Turner, Trust AHP Professional Development Lead
Snapshot of results:
The challenge
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) needed a more consistent and transparent approach to organising and supporting its Allied Health Professional (AHP) workforce. With a diverse group of registrants, support workers, and apprentices, there was a need for clearer visibility of roles, responsibilities, and overall workforce capacity.
This was also the first time the Trust had introduced a formal job planning process and digital solution for non-medical staff - requiring both a cultural and operational shift in how job planning was approached.
The approach
BSMHFT introduced Patchwork’s L2P Job Planning solution to bring structure and consistency to AHP workforce planning, with implementation beginning in late 2023.
A key focus from the outset was creating a scalable and standardised approach. A comprehensive set of job plan templates was developed in line with role and banding expectations, providing a consistent foundation across the workforce. Individuals retain the flexibility to tailor these templates, ensuring each job plan reflects their specific responsibilities and priorities.
Alongside this, the Trust and Patchwork's L2P Job Planning team developed supporting documentation and toolkits to guide both staff and managers through the process, helping to embed job planning as a meaningful and repeatable activity.
Today, around 200 staff are actively using the system, with the majority of job plans built from these templates - balancing consistency with personalisation.
The impact
Implementing Job Planning has delivered measurable improvements in both adoption and process maturity, alongside clear benefits for staff, managers, and patients.
Strong and improving adoption:
The first full job planning cycle (2024/25) saw 159 AHPs actively using the system, rising to 206 the following cycle (2025/26), demonstrating growing engagement and confidence in the process.
More robust and complete processes:
There has also been a notable increase in fully closed job plans, indicating a more mature and consistent approach. Plans are less likely to remain in draft or partially agreed states, even when completed retrospectively. The use of structured templates has enabled a high level of consistency across roles, while still allowing individuals to tailor plans to their needs.
Better workforce visibility and planning:
Managers now have clearer oversight of workforce activity and capacity, supporting more informed decision-making and resource planning.
Improved staff experience:
Staff benefit from clearer expectations and greater recognition of their work, helping them feel more supported and empowered in their roles. With clearer structure and alignment, clinicians are better able to focus on delivering consistent, high-quality care for patients and service users.
Key learnings
BSMHFT’s experience highlights several important factors for success:
● Establishing local champions to support adoption and build engagement
● Developing clear templates and supporting toolkits to create consistency and reduce ambiguity
● Keeping communication simple and guidance clear to drive uptake
● Using job planning as a dynamic conversation tool, particularly where expectations differ from initial guidance
Embedding flexibility, allowing teams to adapt templates to reflect real-world roles and responsibilities
Looking ahead
Building on this success, the Trust is now onboarding the Psychological Therapies workforce, demonstrating that the approach can scale across different professional groups. This expansion is expected to further improve workforce visibility, streamline planning, and strengthen operational efficiency across the organisation.
BSMHFT will continue to refine job planning and explore how insights can support wider workforce planning. By embedding Job Planning into everyday practice, the Trust is creating a transparent, scalable, and structured approach to managing its workforce, now spanning AHPs and Psychological Therapies, strengthening teams and supporting high-quality care across multiple disciplines.